Wastelands
by Tactician404
Summary: Ten shinobi are paid handsomely to transport a pair of Hyuuga Princesses across the apocalyptic landscapes that have come to be known as the Wastelands. 1000 years before the birth of the Shinobi Nations, Naruto and his crew must live with, learn about, and love each other as the whole world comes down around them. The Era of Warring States AU.[Hiatus]
1. Enter Naruto of No Clan

Summary: According to the scrolls, a thousand years ago, Kaguya Otsutsuki ate the Chakra Fruit produced by the God Tree and became the first Jinchuuriki. Eighty years ago, the Warring States Era concluded. This story takes place in that nine-hundred-year gap in time that no history book dares to speak about. AU post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-like, Warring States setting. Rated M for possible lemons, swearing, character death, swearing, blood, angst, swearing and violence… Tayuya's in it, so I should probably warn you, there might be a bit of swearing here and there.

List of Main Characters: Naruto U. (18), Hinata H. (18), Hanabi H. (17), Sakura H. (19), Ino Y. (19), Sasuke U. (19), Itachi U. (22), Fuu (19), Tayuya (20), Kin T. (20), and OCs.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter One: Enter Naruto of No Clan**

XXX

" **Listen carefully… a long time ago. Before there was Man. There was only a Void. Within the Void lived the gods. And the gods. In their states of boredom created Monsters. Terrifying creatures whose sole duties were to feast, and feast on only one thing. Man. Man was on the menu. Only Man could satisfy their hunger. And the gods with their craftiness, made Man the only beings who knew how to stop the Monsters. Ever since the Sage of Six Paths split Yin and Yang into two, the Monsters have once again been unleashed. And what of the Men with the knowledge to seal them? They've been thrust forwards in time to a time too far beyond mortal Man's reach."**

XXX

 _October, 09._

 _800 Years before the events of 'Naruto'._

 _100 Years after the defeat of Kaguya._

Space and time distorted on the highest floor of a lonely high-rise in the Land of Rain. Nine figures in pitch black robes were scattered around a dark and dingy room minding their own businesses when a ninth figure emerged from the ripple in space-time. Dressed in a black cloak, drenched in rainwater with an orange, single eye-exposing, mask. The man walked into the building and removed his robe to reveal black top and pants with a faded green scarf and dark grey gloves.

The man began removing his gloves as one of the mysterious figures approached. A tenth figure appeared from the wall. Introduced by a Venus' Fly Trap-like plant sprouting from the damp concrete. The plant opened to reveal a creepy two-faced being who didn't say anything until the approaching figure pulled back his hoodie.

"What have you got?" the silver-haired man asked his followers.

"Probably herpes," the masked man tried to make light of the situation.

"I'm being serious Tobi," the pierced man growled.

"So am I, Lord Pain!"

The God of Judgement instinctively turned to the plant-man growing out of his wall for answers. More of the hybrid appeared from the wall until he was completely separated from the barrier. The creature in black rose to his feet.

" **The Land of Grass has sparked conflict with the Land of Earth for the property surrounding the Kyuusai Bridge,"** the black half of his face spoke with a deep bellowing voice, "The Land of Grass had pre-booked the Senju Clan for an apparent 100 million Ryo… whilst the Land of Earth might be forced to hire the Uchiha Clan for 350 million… if they can find the money," the white half was a little more sensitive and appeared to question everything he said with a pause.

"Of course they can find the money," Lord Pain turned to face the large opening in the wall that Tobi had walked through. The rain continued to fall on the Land of Rain. Both countries were bordering on his land. His band of mercenaries could've probably taken out the Senju Clan if they weren't expecting it, but he would risk starting a war with the Land of Grass' Daimyo, who was much closer to him than the Land of Earth's. He needed to make a choice: Either make an agreement with the Land of Earth to wipe out the Senju army for 250 million Ryo, aid the Land of Grass to help boost his new clan's reputation with an added 50 million Ryo on the side, or wait on the sidelines for one of the countries to mess up so that he can colonise it like he did the Rain Country, "Any news from the Land of Lightning?"

With the Land of Fire's recent betrayal of their greatest ally, the Land of Eddies, they'd lost their status as the strongest country in the Ninja World. The Land of Lightning, thanks to them having two Tailed Beasts, namely the Two Tails and the Eight Tails, were quick to steal that title and didn't seem like letting go of it anytime soon.

"I… I don't know," the white Zetsu shrugged, **"The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning have recently agreed on a deal. The Lightning Daimyo's grandson became infatuated with the Land of Fire's Hyuuga Heiress, but refused to take the Clan Name of Hyuuga, so they decided to marry off the heiress's older sister instead with the Land of Lightning offering 2 billion Ryo in return. Perhaps if we offer to escort her we could grab 500 million for ourselves."**

Lord Pain was already deep in thought, "Wait!" everyone stopped to stare at the contemplating genius. His Rinnegan pierced the clouds, creating an opening as he thought, "No, no. The Land of Fire is currently low on funds since losing the Land of Eddies. They won't be able to afford a strong clan to escort the Hyuuga woman, and with the Uchiha and the Senju preoccupied we can kidnap the woman and hold her at ransom for the whole 2 billion, since the Land of Lightning is so keen on spending its newfound cash. Oumagatoki will rise at last."

Oumagatoki, roughly translating to 'dusk', was the up-and-coming mercenary group turned clan made up of twenty-one S-rank fighters who'd been banished by their original clans. Led by the Rinnegan-wielding God of Judgement, Pain (New Daimyo of the Land of Rain after the previous one was… sent away). Lord Pain lifted his hood over his spiky silver hair.

"You two," he first turned to Tobi, but the clueless man was trying to smell his finger through his mask. He looked over to Zetsu who was already morphing back into the wall, "Shift your focus to the Hyuuga incident, but report back to me if any other big money deal occurs out in the Wastelands, and update me on the Uchiha-Senju battle when it begins."

"Of course, Lord Pain," he melted into the concrete.

"No problem, sir," Tobi fell through the floor.

"Why is everyone sitting around? You have your new pairs, don't you? We need bonds, grab some money and get out into the Wastelands," Lord Pain commanded, "Come Yahiko, come Konan, we have an issue to attend to in the South-West Section 23."

The duo left the room, slamming the large wooden doors as they disappeared. Tobi appeared through the floor.

"Forgot my coat," he giggled before walking through a wall.

XXX

"Hey!"

Naruto's eyes opened instantly as he sprung across the stuffy room and landed in one of the corners. His wild spiky blonde hair flopped around as he landed on his knees as he placed his back on the corner. A big-boned woman with a double-chin, a pink apron, short red hair and a large broom stood under the door frame. Naruto's blue eyes quickly scanned the room before returning to the woman.

"How many times have I told you, you can't stay in the rooms if you don't rent them out," she shouted. Naruto smirked. He fell into a cross-legged position before looking around for his possessions. A backpack had been carelessly thrown into the farthest corner. His red robe with black flames was sitting at the foot of 'his' bed. His black shin-high sandals were tucked neatly under the bed. His weapon pouch, filled with shuriken and kunai knives, was sitting on the end table. And his orange jumpsuit was probably in the closet.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Baa-chan, but you know I'll pay my tab when I get money," he flashed the older lady a foxy grin, unaware of the fact that she was actually advancing. He got hit in the head with a broom, "ITAI!"

She continued to beat on him with the wooden broom, "What have I told you about calling me 'Baa-chan', huh? I'm only thirty-five years old, you disrespectful youth! Sure, my youthful days are behind me but one day you'll be thirty-five and realise how young it is! Stop breaking into my apartment rooms because you close the windows and the dust can't get out, so I have to brush every morning! And you earn thousands every time you go out of town and kill innocent people so don't you dare give me that line!" the assault ceased.

"You can't blame me, Obaa-chan," he tried to be a little politer to no avail, "You've heard the statistics, the average life expectancy out in the Wastelands is twenty-eight years. You're ancient in my books, dattebayo."

He got two extra hits for those comments. He was trapped between the meaty tree trunks she calls legs. He couldn't escape her broom swings.

"Well, I don't live in the Wastelands. Murder is illegal in the Sanctions. They say even the great Uchiha Clan respects Sanction customs. The average life expectancy here is seventy-three… although most of us are widowed old women by that time," she sighed, "Luckily, my Izumo was wiser and chose to abandon his clan to come live with me in this Sanction."

"That's… that's amazing," Naruto looked around and calculated… it would take him two seconds max to grab all his things from the room, but he'd have to grab his clothes from the closet and put them on without being caught.

"I'm just saying, Naruto. Mei from the Dango place said that the ratio of men to women in the Ninja World is 1 is to 47. That means you could potentially have 47 wives if you just stopped all this fighting… I mean, I heard men like having more than one woman… with the exception of my Izumo, of course."

"You don't really have time to think about relationships when your life is on the line every day," Naruto said.

"That's what I'm saying, I know this beautiful girl who lives down the road. She's got the most youthful breasts ever and she's still pure because most of the males in the Sanction are either toddlers or are too old to even have sex anymore. I actually think you're in only twenty-year-old in this Sanction, Naruto."

"I'm actually eighteen, until tomorrow."

"Even better," she sounded surprised, "Come on Naruto, think about it. There's like a hundred young women in this Sanction and you're the only one who can satisfy their urges to-!"

Naruto exploded with quick feet and quick hands. He grabbed his weapons pouch, clipped it onto the side of his thigh, grabbed his shoes from under the bed, threw them to the other side of the bed, leapt over the bed, snatched his robe, put his shoes on, and only then looked back. The woman was still a little stunned. He grabbed his backpack and stopped at the closet to grab his jumpsuit.

"HEY! You still haven't paid!" her brain caught up. Naruto nabbed his jumpsuit and made a run for it. He painstakingly hopped down the wooden hallway as he put his pants on over his shoes. He threw his orange and black jacket on, zipped it up and concluded by sliding his robe on and leaping through an open window.

The blonde landed gracefully next to a crowd of young women.

"Naruto!" they screamed.

"Hey," Naruto wanted to get as far away from Baa-chan's Standard Apartments. He made his way down the dusty road at full speed.

Two hundred years ago, people had to be at constant war with themselves and the Monsters that had been unleashed from the Brink. A hundred years ago, Lady Kaguya ate the Chakra Fruit produced by the God Tree every millennium. This gave her control over the Monsters, they disappeared into the shadows and the lands were at peace thanks to Lord Tenji and Lady Kaguya's reign. One night, Kaguya went crazy and killed her husband, vowing to reclaim the freshly dispersed chakra from everyone. It took months for her sons to band together and seal her away, splitting Yin and Yang into two to create the Tailed Beasts and spark wars amongst countries for the land, money and power that once belonged to the Otsutsuki Empire. The Ninja World turned into the Wastlelands. A horrible place where anything could happen to you at any moment.

Along with the rush for land. There was a rush for power, a rush for chakra and a bigger rush to learn and discover new jutsu. If you could weave the right hand signs and distribute the right amount of chakra to the right body part, you could discover a potentially lethal new jutsu that could be sold to a country for millions. The bloodlust brought the Monsters that had plagued people's nightmares for centuries and to protect those who didn't want to be caught in the adrenaline rush that was the Wastelands, they built Sanctions. Large villages that would keep the Monsters out, and act as a ceasefire for men.

The Leaf Village was one of the biggest private Sanctions in the Land of Fire. Private in that, it ran itself, no money from the feudal lords or from any big clans was used unless they were stopping there to rest. Everyone knew each other, so everyone would grieve together when someone's father, brother, or son was declared dead on the battlefield. It was even worse when it was someone's mother, sister or daughter because it happened less frequently. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the remaining males, this meant that they were more valuable and bigger targets for kidnappings and murders. The number of Uchiha, Senju, Aburame, Hyuuga, Nara, Akimichi, Sarutobi, Yamanaka, Namikaze, Fuuma, Otsutsuki, and Uzumaki young boys who were killed just because of their last name was so high that the clans had to resort to changing boys' last names and separating from them only to return to them when they were fighting fit.

The Wastelands were horrible… but they were a part of life in the Ninja World.

"Naruto! Come by to try my new ramen batch!" Ayame, one of the survivors of the Ichiraku Massacre, called out from the Ichiraku Ramen Stand as the beautiful young blonde sprinted past. He ground to a halt in front of the little shop and shrugged. He was probably just going to run out of the Sanction to get himself killed anyway.

"A last meal would be great," he chuckled, but Ayame didn't like joking about death. A year ago, the Ichiraku Clan left the Sanction because they were offered a 30 million Ryo deal, but it turned out to be an ambush, which left all fifty-three young men dead. She saw Naruto as a brother, and technically, the last male in her clan. If he had to die, she wouldn't be able to handle it, "I'm sorry," he grabbed her hand when he saw her face twist into a frown.

She tried to give him a smile.

"How about a bowl of sweet miso ramen, maybe that'll give me the strength to cut down everyone that stands in my way," he laughed. Ayame nodded excitedly before disappearing into the back. As she vanished, a familiar looking woman appeared with an apron around her hips.

"Naru-chan!"

"Hana!"

Hana was a member of the Leaf's Inuzuka Clan. Formerly, a clan made up of hundreds of crazy warriors who discovered the ability to train ninja hounds and formed such dualities and similarities that they could become one with the hounds, ripping through enemies like freight trains through paper. Now, only three members remained. Kiba and Akamaru, Naruto's best friend and fellow Wastelands Scavenger who once helped him secure a 50 000 Ryo deal; Hana and Kuromaru, the Inuzuka Clan's matriarch and patriarch respectively; and Hana and her Haimaru Brothers, the only member with more than one ninja hound. Hana ran two jobs just to pay the bills in case Kiba's scavenging didn't work out. She was the Sanction's only trained veterinarian and she'd been helping Ayame run the ramen stand ever since the Ichiraku Family Massacre.

Hana was the only person in the entire Sanction who understand that Naruto was more of a scavenger than a mercenary. The difference was that a mercenary was the common assassin who got paid to kill, a scavenger would usually come by after the dust had settled and collect what the clans were 'too good' to collect, usually one Ryo bills that would amount to thousands at times. He also looted bodies and, if need be, searched the houses for any survivors and brought them back to the Sanction. Of course, if a good mercenary came by Naruto wasn't one to decline. Scavenging wasn't as dangerous as mercenary work, but in the Wastelands, someone could kill you simply because you look like a guy they once saw.

"Found anything interesting?" she asked placing an empty bowl on the counter. She proceeded to furiously wipe away the smudges as Naruto spoke.

"Nah, but I feel like since the Land of Fire just broke away from the Fire-Eddies Agreement, more wars will take place around this area, which means more loot," Naruto explained whilst staring intensely at Hana's wiping. It was mother-like, to say the least. Naruto's lack of motherly affection meant he craved a woman who could love him as a mother would. He looked back up to Hana's face. She had extremely smooth and shiny pale skin with the iconic Inuzuka 'red fang' tattoos on her cheeks. Her brown hair was tied into a bun for work purposes with two strands hanging over her face. She wore her cream vet jacket to work but hung an apron over it to avoid staining the expensive piece. Naruto could watch her wipe bowls for days, but that would've been weird. If it weren't for the age difference, and her questionable 'friendship' with Ayame, Hana would've probably been Naruto's first choice in partner. He didn't really care about that whole 47 girls for every guy thing.

"Yeah, definitely," Hana had been too focused on the bowl to answer Naruto, but as she did Ayame emerged from the back with a steaming hot bowl of ramen. Hana spun around to face the kitchen, she disappeared behind the room divider.

Two women lifted the curtains and took their seats next to Naruto.

"Two bowls of miso ramen please," the one with a raspy voice ordered for both of them. Naruto raised an eyebrow before blowing on his ramen.

"Since when did you eat ramen?" he asked.

He turned on his bar stool to face Tayuya and Kin. Tayuya blushed before turning to Kin. The clueless woman with long black hair shrugged. Naruto could never forget how he'd met Tayuya and Kin, and the women could never be thankful enough to the gods that Naruto was where he was when he was.

Last year, Naruto, for some reason, had decided to venture further north then he'd ever ventured in the Wastelands. No battles for land had taken place in the Land of Fire because the Fire-Eddies Agreement was in full swing and Uzumaki Guards, trained in the Way of Fire, were guarding the borders in their numbers. Naruto thought he'd had stumbled on a battlefield near the border of the Land of Sound and the Land of Fire, but it was a famous Facility that ran tests on young people to try and create an army of super shinobi. Naruto had recently discovered his Nine Tails healing ability and used it to bring both Tayuya and Kin back from the verge of death after them almost drowning. Everyone else had died in an incident that was later dubbed the Land of Sound Facility Meltdown. After carrying both survivors to the Sanction, they explained that the meltdown occurred when the Three Tails and the Five Tails were accidentally sealed into Kin and Tayuya respectively, during a test to figure out how much Tailed Beast chakra a human child could take. The Sanction welcomed both Tayuya and Kin with open arms and after a year they were well-known Jinchuuriki.

"Did you hear about the Land of Fire's deal with the Land of Lightning?" Tayuya asked after her blushing concluded.

"Yeah, I heard the Land of Fire is receiving 2 billion Ryo," Naruto said.

"Well, did you hear that the Hyuuga Clan is receiving an extra 1 billion Ryo?" Tayuya asked.

"Good for them," Naruto quickly slurped down the first strands of ramen.

"And they're using 500 million to pay for the escorts," Tayuya was beating around the bush, something Naruto didn't really fancy.

"Good for them," he repeated.

"The four of us were offered to join a group of mercenaries to help escort the Hyuuga princesses to the Land of Lightning," Kin said, flat-out.

Naruto stopped eating to take that information in, "A group of mercenaries?" he licked the side of his mouth, then swallowed, "How many of us in this group?" Naruto wiped his hands on one of the serviettes. Tayuya pulled out a scroll and read through it to find the passage.

"Ten."

"Well, what do you mean the four of us? There's only three Jinchuuriki in the Leaf," Naruto turned to the women.

"That Yamanaka girl is coming with us… Ino."

"Hmph… I don't usually like doing mercenary work with someone who comes from a clan," Naruto stroked the light stubble on his chin, "Where is this Ino?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Tayuya growled.

Naruto laughed, "Sure, when and where do they want us to meet?" he asked.

"The Glass Sanction, a government-funded Sanction to the north… quite close to the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire," Tayuya was too lazy to search for a map in her backpack so she tried to use her mental knowledge of the Rain-Fire border. There was a chance she could've been wrong, but who cared?

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"It says, please be prompt around twelve noon, so we can leave at six in the morning and if we don't run into trouble, we'll get there at around eleven."

Two bowls of ramen were dropped in front of both women. Kin instantly turned to slurp down the steaming hot ramen. Tayuya let hers cool for a minute. Another figure lifted the curtains and jumped on the seat to Naruto's left.

"There you are, Naruto, Kin, Tayuya! I'm Ino from the Yamanaka Clan," the excited platinum blonde raised a peace sign to her eyes and winked. Tayuya froze before facing Naruto and muttering 'Oh Kami', "So, I'm guessing you're all discussing tomorrow's mission, if you are I actually have some suggestions and steps to make sure this mission goes off without a hitch," she rummaged through her backpack.

"Would you like some ramen, Yamanaka-san?" Ayame identified Ino by the symbol on the back of her purple tank top. She flipped her blonde bang to stare at the ramen girl.

"Oh no, ramen would be like a middle finger to my hips," she giggled before finally dropping her backpack and pulling out a map that already had different locations marked off in some black ink. She slapped the map onto the table and rolled it out so everyone could see. Kin had to shift her bowl to the wall just so she could eat in peace, "Since the Glass Sanction is only roughly five hours from here we should probably leave around five in the morning, so we could give ourselves two hours of space, in case we run into some idiots who don't know who they're messing with. Then, I feel like since we'd be so close to the Grass border, instead of walking along the Land of Fire's border which will probably be war-ridden, we could just cut through the Grass, then head up into the Land of Waterfalls, which is never at war, then we could hop into the Land of Iron, Sound, and then stop at the Land of Hot Water so I can get my pores opened after all that walking and sweating. And with the Land of Frost being the only land bridge into the Land of Lightning I think that'd be an obvious country we'd have to pass through to get to the Lightning Country."

Naruto had already finished his ramen so his attention was now fully directed at Ino, who had a pretty solid plan. Tayuya was too busy watching her ramen cool to care about what Ino was saying, Ino was never really her favourite person in the Leaf Sanction. Kin had just finished her ramen and was staring into space, quietly wondering how she managed to scarf down that much ramen in such a short span of time.

Ino continued, "I had daddy mark out all the best resting places along the way, each of these X's is a private Sanction, so things will be more expensive there but at least we'll have a little more space to breathe. They're quite spread out too, so we'll only run into one every week or so. The Y's are Yamanaka Household Homes. Thanks to me being on the mission we can stop there and resupply if need be. The only problem is they're only located in the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Iron so from Sound to Frost we'll have to make do. The Z's are potential warzones. Conflict can obviously hit us from anywhere, but one of our spies mapped out valuable structures and plots of land that might stir up conflict in the coming months. We have some in the Land of Iron, the land of Sound, the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire too, along with the Land of Grass's border with the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth. Other than that, we'll be on our own," Ino giggled, "But I'm sure you can handle it," she placed her hand on Naruto's. The spiky-haired blonde didn't pull away.

"Perfect, I say we meet at five in the morning and head out then, it'll be a lot easier, make sure to sleep with your things packed."

"I have an idea," Ino wasn't done, "Why don't you just come sleep at the Yamanaka Compound, I'm sure we can find a minka you guys can sleep in until tomorrow comes."

"That'd be great," Naruto twisted his wrist so he could grab Ino's hand. The platinum blonde grinned before looking down at their intertwined fingers. She looked back up to Naruto who was staring between the curtain gaps at some building in the distance.

"Okay," Tayuya separated the two, "Naruto, since you're finished, how about you come with me to buy some clothes for the mission," she lifted Naruto to his feet.

The ignorant blonde, not sensing the tension in the air, asked, "Wouldn't Kin be more suited for that?"

"She sure is. Come along, Kin," Tayuya dragged both of them through the curtains whilst yelling, just loud enough for Ino to hear, "Don't be so scared, you dumbass, it's not like you haven't seen me naked before!"

Naruto's brow furrowed, "I haven't."

XXX

Tayuya hated doing stereotypical girly things, like applying makeup, going to parties and talking about boys, but she couldn't help but like shopping for new clothes. Something about the idea made her smile, as if buying clothes was her idea of heaven. Maybe it was a result of wearing the same thing for years as a child. Wearing the Facility's bland black jumpsuit was a lot better than wearing torn and tattered remnants of her clothes, that exposed way too much skin, as a child, but it still left her feeling restricted and burdened. So maybe she was using shopping to drown out that part of her past… but who cared, as she'd always say.

"Don't you want to pick something out?" Naruto asked Kin. The slightly older woman was always the shyest member of the Jinchuuriki trio. According to Tayuya, before they were rescued, Kin was an 'arrogant bitch', so why her personality changed so suddenly was a mystery. She had neither Tayuya's foulmouthed personality, nor Naruto's loudmouthed personality. She was always drowned out by outspokenness, but it didn't look like she minded.

"Um… I'm a little short of funds," Kin rubbed her shoulder awkwardly.

"It's on me," Naruto nudged her with his elbow.

"Oh no, no, no, no, I could never, you worked hard for that money," she sighed. She never had the confidence herself to go out into the Wastelands even though she had that Jinchuuriki status.

"It's only like fifty bucks, I get triple that every time I loot a rich bastard's house in the Wastelands."

Naruto pulled out a random fighter's outfit from the women's section, "This would be perfect on you," he was lucky to pull out something in a small. It was a black long-sleeved top with a black pair of knee-exposing leggings that came with a blue double slit dress she could wear over the outfit. The new attire would've been a great change from her stealthy green flak jacket and snow camo undershirt, pants and scarf.

Kin giggled shyly before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "It must be exciting to live on the edge like you do," said Kin.

"Ha, you'll see for yourself tomorrow. It's actually pretty overrated for the most part, the Wastelands are a vast plain of forests and deserts and rivers with deadly fish. The climate is more likely to kill you before any high-ranking mercenary does," Naruto downplayed the thrill of being out in the Wastelands. He did a lot of downplaying but that was because he knew something much worse was right around the corner in life.

"How's this?" Tayuya flung the curtains apart. The redhead was wearing something Naruto though he'd ever see her wear. It was so unique and surprising to the blonde that he couldn't mask his confusion, which Tayuya interpreted as disgust. She was wearing a dress. An actual dress. At first Naruto was trying to decipher if it was some kind of oversized shirt, but it was hugging her body in all the right places and accentuating too many features to be an oversized anything, "A simple 'no' would do," the angry redhead shut the curtains.

"… I think you should go apologise," Kin suggested.

"I… I didn't hate it, she just caught me by surprise with that one," Naruto blushed. He handed the outfit in his hand to Kin before rushing over to the blue drapes and spreading them slightly to allow safe passage. Tayuya kicked him square in the chest for running into the changing room while she was disrobing. Luckily she had her mesh armour undershirt on, so Naruto didn't see anything. He got the message though. The whiskered idiot landed on the varnished floor.

"You good?" the cashier asked, too lazy to walk all the way to Naruto's side.

"Yeah… I'm okay," he'd hit the ground hard, but his body was used to hard impacts. Kin quickly hung the garment so she could help Naruto to his feet. Tayuya stuck her head out to make sure she didn't break anything.

"That'll teach you to walk in on a lady," she growled.

"How did you take you take your dress off so quickly," was a more important question in Naruto's head.

"Ask another question and I'll give you another kick!"

"Why do you have to be so violent all the time, Tayu-chan, dattebayo!"

Tayuya stuck her naked leg out through the curtain, all the way up to her upper thigh, and used it to kick Naruto's stomach, "Did I give you right to call me Tayu-chan, you stinking rat?! And I told you not to ask any more questions! That was a question!"

"Hey, hey, hey! You break anything, it's yours!" the owner yelled from the backroom.

Kin, who always loved making any awkward moment between Naruto and Tayuya even more awkward, had to add her two cents to the conversation, "Well since you've broken so many of his bones, it makes sense that Naruto would be yours."

"Kin! If I wasn't in my underwear, I'd come out and beat you senseless too! How dare you accuse me of being in a relationship with someone so stupid, so reckless and so… so…"

"Calm down, Tayu-chan. You know I was just joking. Why don't you try on some more clothes to ease your emotions?" Kin tried to tranquilise the mad bull.

"I'm gonna continue trying on clothes! But not because you told me to!" Tayuya disappeared behind the drapes.

"I saved your ass," Kin folded her arms.

"Shut up and pick an outfit," Naruto was trying to nurse his wounds. As he said that, Kin grabbed some outfits that she'd been eying intently, and walked into Tayuya's changing room even though there were four open rooms.

" _ **If that vixen keeps kicking your ass and you're not getting anything out of it, one of these days, I'm going to stop healing you and you're going to die!"**_ a demonic bellow echoed through Naruto's mind. He sat against the wall and allowed himself to be sucked into his mindscape. He looked up to the giant reddish-orange fox that loomed over him with bright red, darkness-piercing eyes, and nine destructive tails waving in the background. Vapour escaped the beast's nose as it exhaled. There was no barrier between the two individuals because earlier in the blonde's life the fox got Naruto out of a sticky situation, so Naruto freed the heavenly beast to honour an agreement they'd made prior.

"I know you'd never let me die, you enjoy living too much," Naruto reasoned.

" **You forget that I'd be revived somewhere else in the world, maybe then I'd be free,"** the fox stared into the distance. The water stirred, sending ripples out with the water as a medium **, "We'll have to cut this conversation short, your vixens are here."**

"Naruto! Naruto! Are you dead, you old fuck?!" Naruto instinctively snatched Tayuya's hand before staring into her hazel irises. His eyes widened, expecting a slap to come from the redhead's free hand, but Tayuya just pulled her hand back and said, "What the fuck's wrong with you, we need to pay for our shit."

"Oh… oh yeah," Naruto gripped the wall as he attempted to pull himself to his feet.

Tayuya punched him.

"That's for grabbing my hand so roughly, you stinking rat!"

XXX

Due to the constant wars for land, love and power, major countries and miniature lands alike had important structures and landmarks damaged to the point where repair would be infeasible. As a testament to how futile these wars were, nine times out of ten, all the countries involved in the war that destroyed that town would see the land as useless and withdraw from the area. But where one group saw trash, others saw treasure. Their base in the Land of Rain, not enough, each one of the ten pairs that made up Oumagatoki needed their own base somewhere out in the Wastelands. Somewhere so close to key strongholds that they could easily access bonds, but also far enough from those same strongholds to avoid being caught in a war where they weren't being paid to kill anyone.

Two figures, in search of the perfect hideaway, sauntered through the remains of a temple that was on its last legs. The taller and broader figure on the left, dressed in the gang's soon-to-be iconic black trench coat, walked casually with a massive heavily-bandaged sword slung over his shoulder. His beady eyes analysed the collapsing temple as he stepped over a pile of rubble. The shorter man was relatively new even according to the group's standards. After Lord Pain failed to obtain the services of the Uchiha Outcast Brothers, Sasuke and Itachi, a rogue mercenary apparently from a land west of the Land of Wind appeared at Lord Pain's doorstep. Untried and untested, the young man was nonetheless given the chance to prove himself amongst the greats.

"So tell me, how does a regular old swordsman from the Land of Water end up in a horrible place like this?" the shorter man asked.

"Brave assumption calling me regular," the taller man had to duck under a low-hanging concrete beam being held together by tattered cables.

"Even braver assumption calling you old," the short man admitted as he trampled over a thick and warm puddle of crimson ooze.

"Well to answer your question, I was one of the Land of Water's Legendary Seven Swordsmen of Mercenary Work. I was pretty capable of joining Oumagatoki on my own will, but I had a tie-in with the man behind the mask so when he formed this mercenary band with Lord Pain and Lady Angel, I was the first person he decided to recruit," the swordsman brushed aside a heavy wall of concrete, "The job description was simple enough. A band of ten mercenaries or so, we kill for money and protect each other when stuff goes sour… didn't even need to think about it. I didn't expect any of this 'become the world's greatest country' nonsense. What about you, what brought you to the Land of Rain?"

"There's not much to say, I was clanless and broken. I heard tales of Lord Pain and Lady Angel on my endeavours through the Land of Wind. I knew that in this cruel world, it was kill or be killed. I couldn't fight back against the people that got me in this situation, so I decided I'd rather fight back against the people who make my situation even tougher."

The duo got to the end of the temple and was joined by two more pairs of cloaked men. The twenty-first member of Oumagatoki, a blonde man with a high-tech eye under his bag. A huge wooden figure with a scorpion tail and rag over his nose. The only person in the group who'd seen Kaguya in the flesh, an ancient man with a grey mask and green eyes. And a handsome young-looking man with slicked-back grey hair and a smug smirk on his face.

"Anything interesting?" the man in the mask asked.

"Look at it, Kakuzu" the fish-man hybrid turned to face the temple as it stood crippled with dead trees peeping from its glassless windows and a hail of insects nesting on its walls, "What do you think we found?"

"What happened to the other two?" the shorter man with tanned skin asked.

"Some fools on top of that dune were stupid enough to pitch a tent, un. So we sent the two to go check them out," the blonde man replied. They were in a ghost town in the middle of an arid desert. The young man cupped his eyes to get a good view of what looked like a camp at the top of a large dune, but he didn't see any signs of a tent.

"And?"

"Well, as you can see there's no more tent, so I'm guessing they fixed that mess, un."

"Hey, I actually don't believe we were well introduced," the man tried to get that image out of his head by changing the subject. Sasori had stolen the blonde man away from Oumagatoki before Lord Pain could properly introduce them, so the males stopped to finally greet each other.

"Haha, I'm surprised you haven't heard of me by legends and tales," the blonde extended his arm to reveal a toothy smile, "Deidara, un."

"… Shinji," the man smiled awkwardly, "How about we just bow… there's no way I'm shaking that hand," he admitted.

"Deidara is a very raw talent," Sasori explained, "But he has the ability to create bombs of with clay that he spits from his hands. Crazy motherfucker, but a crazy motherfucker who doesn't care about what or who he kills… even if it means taking himself out."

Deidara laughed before turning back to the tanned male, "What about you? Any special talents I should know about before I start pissing you off?" Shinji took a moment to observe everyone he was surrounded by. Kisame was an expert swordsman who had near-infinite chakra and could steal chakra if need be; Sasori was a mysterious puppeteer who could skin you alive if he needed to add to his collection; Deidara was a walking explosive and if you crossed paths with him you'd be a sure kill; it was rumoured that Kakuzu had mastery of all five elemental chakra affinities; and Hidan was immortal… enough said. That fact that if he wasn't wearing a black cloak he'd be dead by now made him feel a little worthless whilst surrounded by the top S-ranking mercenaries in the Wastelands.

"No," he admitted, "But that still doesn't give you the right to piss me off."

"Hmm? You don't have any special abilities? Then what stops me from sacrificing you where you stand?" the silver-haired worshipper asked.

"Me, I'm too lazy to search for another partner," Kisame gripped the hilt of his sword.

"I was just Jashin you, don't take it seriously," Hidan didn't want to start an altercation with the deadly man from the Water.

"Don't you ever say 'just Jashin' ever again… or I will kill you," Kakuzu growled.

"I'd like to see you try, old man."

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Sasori grew impatient, "I don't want to wait for those two, so let's go to the dune and check on them."

XXX

Thanks to Naruto's inability to say no to people, Tayuya, Kin and the whiskered blonde had found themselves sleeping in a little Minka that night. In actual fact, there was nothing wrong with the Minka. The only person who had a problem with it was Tayuya, and she just didn't like who the Minka belonged to.

It didn't ease Tayuya's anger that Ino was dressed in a light purple see-through silk gown with nothing but mesh armour underneath. Wearing silk/cotton gowns wasn't uncommon, (since she was wearing a bright red nightgown with bandages wrapped around her hips and thighs, and Kin was wearing a cotton winter camo gown with her leggings underneath) but Tayuya swore that the platinum blonde temptress was saving her most see-through garment for the day Naruto came over. The barefoot beauty sauntered around the little wooden home blowing out the lanterns until the room was completely dark save for the moon's light.

The moon had formed a hundred years prior and, although it had been slowly rising into space since then, it was extremely close to the earth's surface. By extremely close, if you were able to stand on a tall enough mountain you would be able to grab a piece of moon for good luck. The heavenly satellite penetrated the clouds if they hung high enough. This meant that even though the lanterns were blown out, the Leaf scavengers were still able to see each other's silhouettes bathed in blue moonlight.

All four of them laid their sleeping mats facing each other to form a square in the centre where the last lit lantern was situated. Ino jumped into her mat from its feet and made her way up under the cotton blanket. She blew into the lantern to darken the whole house a shade.

"Hey Naruto," Kin whispered. Her head was directly facing Naruto's with Tayuya's head facing Ino's. She had to lift her chin to stare at the hyperactive ninja.

"Oi?" he lifted his head.

"What do you think the other six people will be like?" Kin rested her head.

Naruto had to think about that one. Ino answered first without hesitation, "Not as good as me, that's for sure."

"I'm willing to bet on that," Tayuya mumbled.

"Well if this really is a 500 million Ryo deal and neither the Uchiha Clan nor the Senju Clan are on it, I'm guessing it's six of the biggest and strongest and cut-throat mercenaries on this side of the Great Wall, dattebayo!"

"Fuck yeah, we'll probably have one of those strong and silent types who don't say anything but ends up wiping out an entire army," Tayuya imagined.

"Or maybe like a renowned shinobi who's discovered over a thousand different jutsu and earns millions every year just for selling them and teaching them to people," Kin thought aloud.

"I wouldn't mind a chiselled young bachelor who just has the complete package, you know? Muscular, fast, smart, never-ending stamina and maybe even to top it off downstairs, a nice, hard-,"

"Okay!" Naruto didn't want to hear the last word of that sentence so he threw his own imaginary partner into the mix, "I just want someone who's going to be there when it counts, dattebayo. She doesn't have to be extremely strong or extremely smart, but someone who's trustworthy, loyal, energetic, and never wants to give up."

"… Maybe that kind of person has been right under your nose this whole time," Tayuya couldn't hold her yawn in any longer. She rested her head on the pillow and drifted away. Kin followed suit.

"Hey Naruto," Ino whispered on the verge of sleep herself.

"Yeah?"

"Can I count on your protection out in the Wastelands?"

"… Of course, you have my word and I never go back on my…" Ino had already disappeared into her dreamscape. Naruto stared at the moonrise. The big ominous ball of rock watched over him as he drifted away.

XXX

 _October, 10._

 _Midday_

"Happy birthday… happy birthday… happy birthday."

Naruto made the mistake of informing Tayuya when his date of birth was. At some point during that year Naruto had mustered up the courage to ask Tayuya and Kin how old they were, and they were surprised to learn that the youngster was actually two years younger than both of them to which he quickly replied that come October 10th that gap would be reduced to one year. With that information, Tayuya vowed to annoy Naruto and remind him of how young he was every October 10th until he was older than she was (an impossibility).

"How does it feel to finally be legal?" Tayuya's arms swayed as she marched through the dense jungle. They were only a kilometre or two away from the vantage point and to Kin's disappointment they didn't run into anything or anyone while out in the Wastelands. The Glass Sanction, unlike the Sanction Hidden in the Leaves, had no barrier surrounding it because it was a government operated Sanction that anyone could enter and exit. Due to the lack of action, Naruto spent five, long and agonising, hours listening to Tayuya make stupid jokes about being a child.

"What do you mean legal? The legal age for drinking in the Sanctions is like twelve for boys and thirteen for girls," they'd lowered the limits drastically because people were more likely to die at a younger age, thanks to the ever-present possibility of war.

Kin pulled out a kunai from her pouch and used it to slash through some leaves. Tayuya continued to mock Naruto as they manoeuvred through the difficult terrain. Ino trailed behind everyone and read her map aloud.

"You realise thanks to leaving so early, we're probably like the first ones here anyway right?" Tayuya whined.

"Not really," Kin remarked as she chopped the last green branch and walked out into the clearing. She was greeted first by three pairs of people. A pair of raven-haired men sitting next to a tree. A man-woman pair standing near the centre of the opening. A pair of women, one pink-haired, one mint-haired, who were standing against a tree.

The four Leaf mercenaries squeezed between two trees to enter the clearing. The two women to their right were the first to approach with friendly smiles on their faces.

"Hey, what're your names?" the pink-haired woman asked.

"Hey there," Naruto tried to be friendly, "The name's Naruto, this is Tayuya, Kin, and this is Ino," he introduced everyone.

"Any clans between the four of you?" the second woman asked.

"Uh… yeah, Ino here is a part of the Yamanaka Clan."

They both seemed impressed.

"Don't steal my brain or anything," the mint-haired lady joked.

"Not making any promises," Ino giggled.

"Well, my name is Sakura Haruno," the first woman introduced herself. Sakura wore a shirt and apron skirt combination in a simple colour scheme. Her clothing was a mixture of bright scarlets and fleshy pinks. She wore a sleeveless red shirt with a grey zipper accompanied by a pair of black biker shorts under a short light pink apron skirt. She topped the look off with a few more accessories, namely a plain red headband, the regular mercenary's beige backpack, tight black gloves, a weapons pouch, pink elbow protectors and low heel, knee-high open-toed boots.

"This is Fuu," the pink-haired kunoichi decided to just introduce everyone else. The orange-eyed vixen wore a midriff-exposing two-piece outfit with a white and red colour scheme and a lot of mesh armouring. She wore an extremely short sleeveless white top that ended just under her relatively flat breasts. She had fishnet armour under her shirt and a pair of fishnet shorts visible under her white apron skirt. Her attire's accessories consisted of a pair of white armlets, an orange clip in her mint green hair, short white sandals and a red cylindrical bag wrapped around her torso which acted as her backpack.

"I believe that's Hoshiko," she pointed to the male member of the male/female pair near the centre of the clearing. The young man had a curly mop of brown hair and a set of equally brown eyes. Hoshiko sported a shirt and pants combination with a white and blue colour scheme. He wore a body-hugging long-sleeved white top with a tight pair of white pants and a light blue sash holding the combo together. His choice of accessories was made up of black fingerless gloves, light blue shin guards, a pair of blue goggles, short blue sandals and a beige backpack.

"The lady next to him is Asuna Kawamoto," the seated woman had sickly pale skin with long black hair and bangs so long they covered her eyes. Asuna's colour scheme was basically black with pieces of white. She was dressed in a silk black kimono with floral patterns running along both it and its obi, where the colours were inverted. Under the kimono, she wore a short-sleeved black top with a low-cut collar accompanied by a pair of black leggings that were pulled up to her waist and held by a white silk belt. It looked like her partner was carrying all their supplies so her only accessories were bandages wrapped around her torso that ran all the way to her wrists, two open-toed, shin-length open-toed boots, a shuriken pouch and a pair of traditional fans tucked into her obi.

"Those two over there are the famed Uchiha Outcasts Brothers, the one leaning against the tree is Sasuke," she used her thumb to point to the younger man with onyx eyes and black, in some lights, blue, hair. He wore a shirt and pants blend in a white and purple colouring pattern. His loose long-sleeved white shirt hung at his shoulders, revealing his toned physique. He was clad in a pair of baggy violet pants too with a pair of shin-high black sandals. The man only needed a few accessories, just a light purple rope belt with a sword at the ready, a pair of black arm-guards to protect his wrists and a purple backpack with the Uchiha logo that was currently resting by his feet.

"And the one sitting on the root is Itachi," she concluded with the most enigmatic, and probably the oldest, character in the clearing. The older gentleman had his black hair tied into a ponytail whilst his onyx eyes stared into the distance. Itachi simply wore a shirt and pants like his younger sibling but in a black and faded blue scheme. The Uchiha was dressed in a faded blue almost black short-sleeved shirt that ran past his waist, over his equally faded blue/black loose pants that were held up by a white sash. Thanks to the shirt's low cut collar along with the longer sleeves, Itachi's fishnet undershirt was visibly hugging his body. The man only had a few accessories on him, those being the bandages wrapped around his shins, his black sandals, his black backpack and his plain black headband which he wrapped around his forehead to keep his hair in shape.

Whilst Naruto had opted to stay in his orange and black jumpsuit with black sandals. His only accessories were the black headband he used, just like Itachi, to stop his spiky hair from blocking his sight. And Kin had chosen to wear her traditional sleeveless flak jacket over her winter camo shirt and pants combination and under her winter camo scarf. Tayuya and Ino had decided to change their looks a little.

Tayuya left her greyish-purple double slit dress in the Sanction and had arrived at the rendezvous point wearing a black sleeveless hooded zip-up jacket over her long-sleeved fishnet undershirt. Her upper body attire change was accompanied by a new knee-length black apron skirt which allowed Naruto to see her classic black biker shorts. She kept her bandaged up hair and the bandages she wore as socks under her black sandals.

Ino didn't really do much adjustment to her attire, but to suit the mission at hand she removed most of her makeup, snipped a lot of her platinum blonde hair so she could tie it into a lower back-length ponytail, and bought an open-front mid-thigh level purple apron skirt with a shorter black skirt that didn't go past her inner thighs under it. Lucky she kept her fishnet tights on as a form of modesty shorts.

Everyone seemed battle ready, but were too reluctant to socialise, so they retired to their own corners of the clearing and chatted amongst themselves. The boredom continued until an hour later, when a horse-drawn carriage exploded through the shrubbery to give the ten mercenaries the news they'd been waiting for. Naruto was the first to get up, and he had to in order to avoid being charged down by a half ton equine.

The carriage was a lilac purple with golden dragons running along the sides. Its wheels were made of wooden spokes attached to steel that had been finely shaped into a perfect circle. The two horses dragging the carriage through the forest were pure white thoroughbreds who responded to the well-dressed rider's shouting without putting up a fight.

"This seems interesting," Fuu commented as the carriage door was pushed open allowing its three passengers to get out and smell the fresh Glass Sanction air.

"Behold, in their excellence, members of the esteemed Hyuuga Clan. The patriarch of the Hyuuga Main Family situated in the Land of Fire's Central Sanction, Hiashi Hyuuga. The heiress of the Hyuuga Main Family situated in the Land of Fire's Central Sanction, Hanabi Hyuuga. And the future wife and matriarch of the Raijin Prestigious Family situated in the Land of Lightning's Ethereal Sanction, Hinata Hyuuga," the well-rounded man who had steered the horses recklessly into the clearing announced.

It took all of her energy and the process of repetitively squeezing Naruto's hand furiously for Tayuya to avoid shouting, "Get on with it already," she decided to wait in patience and, for a minute, enjoy the feel of Naruto's smooth large hand around hers.

"Now introducing Lord Hiashi Hyuuga, who wishes to address all of you, bounty hunters, at once," the announcer took a step back.

"Did he just call me a bounty hunter? This bitch ain't a bounty h-," Naruto used his other hand to cover Tayuya's mouth before she ruined a potentially multimillion Ryo deal.

The elderly man in a white male's kimono with green cotton robes stepped forward as the hesitant group of mercenaries bunched together in front of him. Kin was extremely distracted by the family's eerily white eyes, but Naruto was too busy contemplating about how he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't know much about the guy, but just from sensing the aura radiating off of him, he knew that this was going to be a painstakingly long mission.

"As you may know from the letter my servant sent to your respective Sanctions, my eldest daughter, Hinata, will be married to the Lightning Daimyo's grandson upon her arrival in the Land of Lightning. Unfortunately, due to the turmoil in Central Sanction thanks to our Daimyo's irresponsible retreat from the Fire-Eddies Agreement, I must stay in the Land of Fire until the wars on our borders cease," Hiashi began to pace as he spoke, "Now, the Land of Lightning has sent us, in advance, a billion Ryo to get the highest ranking mercenaries in the game. But, I couldn't leave my most precious gem, Hanabi, in the hands of a cold band of killers like the Senju Clan or the Uchiha Clan and my Hyuuga Clan is fighting on the borders so here the ten of you are. I don't want anything happening to Hanabi, so I need you to keep a low profile as you manoeuvre to the Land of Lightning. If you're able to take Hanabi to the Lightning Country and bring her back, you will receive your billion Ryo reward."

"Billion Ryo?" was the common question.

"Oh… uhh… I can explain that," the servant stepped in, "You said they were each supposed to get 50 million and with the 500 million remaining I assumed that was compensation for me."

"No, no, no, you don't get a cent. It's 50 million each for taking Hanabi and the other one to the Land of Lightning and 50 million each for bringing Hanabi back unscathed."

"Honestly, your horses in the Wastelands would be nothing but a distraction. We'd be an easier target, and last time I checked, horses weren't that useful on desert sands and in bone-chilling weather," Sasuke spoke.

"What my brother means is that," Itachi jumped in while covering the younger man's mouth with his hand, "With all due respect, Hinata's transportation would be a lot more private if we didn't have the glamorous carriage following us around."

Hiashi looked back to Hanabi, "Hana-chan, would you be able to walk all the way to the Land of Lightning, it's okay if you want to stay."

"It's okay father, my legs can manage."

"You?" Hiashi asked Hinata. The timid woman of royal blood nodded, "Then, I shall return to Central Sanction with the carriage. Don't forget to take your backpacks with all your necessities, if you run into danger I don't want either of you to engage, okay."

"Yes, father," Hinata smiled.

"Of course, father," Hanabi politely nodded.

After handing the girls their backpacks, Hiashi entered his majestic carriage and rode into the forest's darkness with his servant and the horses.

"… Well then," Ino sighed to let some of the tension simmer.

"LET'S GET WASTED!" Hanabi shocked everyone with her loud and demanding voice. She seemed so innocent and shy when her father was around, but as soon as he was far enough away she became her true self. She pulled out a list from her pocket and described in detail what she planned to do on this trip, "Before I get back to Central Sanction, I absolutely have to: Get so drunk I passed out in my own vomit. Kiss a boy. Take in some sort of illegal drug. Get laid. Smoke-."

"Hanabi! Don't be so lewd," Hinata complained.

"What? You'll be living it up in the party central of the world, sis, I'll be stuck with the strictest family in the Land of Fire for the rest of my life, this is my only chance to let loose," Hanabi threw her arms behind her head and smirked.

"You!" Hanabi pointed through the crowd to Naruto.

The clueless blonde, who'd been too busy sizing up Sasuke to carry about the horrifying conversation, pointed to himself for reassurance, "Me?"

"Yeah, you! Kiss me!" she demanded.

"The fuck you will!" Tayuya responded first.

"You're like twelve," Hoshiko scratched his hair.

"I'm seventeen, but that doesn't matter, we're both adults out in the Wastelands," Hanabi said.

"The Wastelands aren't about getting drunk or having sex… that's a major part of it, but that's not what they're about. The Wastelands are about being on the edge, survival, and fighting for what could be your last meal-."

"Let's get a move on," Sasuke was already on the opposite side of the clearing with Itachi, "Itachi and I decided it would be a great idea to stop in the Land of Rain before moving on."

"I was thinking we start in the Land of Grass," Ino said as she zipped her backpack and willingly followed behind Sasuke.

"The Land of Rain has better resources, and is much more developed. Plus… we know a guy," Sasuke smirked.

"Then let the journey begin, dattebayo!" Naruto was the last to set off, making sure to man the rear as they all disappeared in the thick jungle. Naruto, Tayuya, Kin, Ino, Hoshiko, Asuna, Sakura, Fuu, Sasuke and Itachi. Ten very different mercenaries pieced together by fate for, probably, the most dangerous mission of their lives. The journey through the Wastelands was underway.

XXX

 **First chapter done and dusted, and I didn't expect it to be this long. Chapter two will probably be a little shorter. As you can see there are quite a few changes compared to the original. If you liked it, then favourite it and follow it, maybe even favourite and follow me.**

 **As I said there are OCs and currently there are three, Hoshiko, Asuna Kawamoto and Shinji. There will be more, in fact, I'm hoping some of you can create them. The Akatsuki, or Oumagatoki, in this story are made up of twenty-one members. The named pairs are Pain, Yahiko and Konan; Deidara and Sasori; Shinji and Kisame; Kakuzu and Hidan; and Tobi and Zetsu, which means there are… ah damn, there goes my maths. A few more pairs to go, and I'm honestly too lazy to come up with 10 or so OCs out of the blue, (with Darkseid of the Moon planning underway, my creativity is extremely limited) so if you don't mind then feel free to PM me your idea of an OC, maybe it's a character you've had in mind for a while but have never been able to write a decent story involving them or you just want to see something you created in one of my stories. If you're going to send me one then why not make it someone crazy and exotic, give them a fresh new Kekkei Genkai or some unique weapon and if you like I could tag you in the chapter of their introduction.**

 **Tactician Out.**


	2. Oumagatoki

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** Thank you, and maybe she will be paired with him, maybe not, it's one of my favourite Naruto shippings, that's for sure.

 **Kuro02:** Thanks, and don't worry you don't have to be a big oc fan or do the whole oc thing, it's just so that I don't have to give life to ten different characters.

 **LtFuzzleButt:** What a name XD! Thank you, I've never had someone call my writing a unique gem, but no, it won't be a harem, the group just has more females than males, it's not hinting a harem or anything. If you can think of a way to avoid making it seem like a dumpster fire from the outside I'd love to hear it.

 **Thank you to the people who favourited the story, followed it and reviewed it, hope you enjoy this chapter. Just so you know beforehand, some ages in this story won't coincide with some of the ages of those in the actual anime or manga. I hope you enjoy.**

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Two: Oumagatoki**

XXX

 _October, 09._

"Why do we even need to have separate bases, un? I thought the whole point of being in a group was to be together all the time, un!" a young blonde man cried as six black figures motioned up a sandy dune in exhaustingly hot and moist black coats. The man turned to his partner. A shorter rounded man with a bandana over his nose and mouth.

"I'm with the kid, I was promised sacrifices! Do you want to know how many people I've sacrificed to my Lord and Saviour Jashin-sama?!" the silver-haired man roared.

"No! Tell me and I'll kill you," the masked man grumbled.

"ZERO!"

"You're a nuisance," Kakuzu walked diagonally to avoid being in his partner's personal space for any longer.

"Who's Jashin?" Shinji asked.

Kakuzu re-entered the picture to swipe Hidan's scythe from him before he could swing it around like a maniac. The immortal psychopath cracked his neck as he turned. Shinji didn't react fast enough to dodge what would've been a death sentence of a scythe swing. Hidan laughed maniacally, "Jashin-sama is a divine being who rids people of the fear of death."

"How?" he bothered to ask.

"By killing them. If you're devoted enough and trust in His power, you can be reborn with the Curse Jutsu: Death Possession Blood," he ran his tongue along a spare knife he kept under his cloak.

"Stop being so weird," Kakuzu pleaded.

"Hurry the fuck up, or I'll kill all of you!" Hiruko exclaimed.

Kisame stretched his arms up high and groaned, "What is with all of you and killing people?"

"That's the whole point of the job," Deidara smirked.

"Says the only member who hasn't actually got a confirmed kill," Sasori reached the dune's summit first and slithered over to the two cloaked individuals standing over a pile of ten or so dead bodies. "Kanemaru, you fucking killed all of them?" Hiruko growled.

"They fought back," the older man explained removing his hoodie to reveal an elderly face with deep wrinkles and heavy scars running like crevasses on the grey-haired man's face. The ocean-blue-eyed man smiled to reveal a set of four sharpened canines, "So, I get to feed on them."

"Did he even try to interrogate them?" Kisame asked as the elderly man took a knee to suckle on his victim's juices.

The second man removed his hoodie too and gave the group a cocky smirk, "Of course not, we both know Kanemaru doesn't know what interrogation even means," his huge lavender eyes darted down to the crouched man. The much older man lifted his face to reveal a slightly less scarred and much younger face with freshened up brown hair.

"Shut up, Neji!"

The Hyuuga continued to smirk, "But judging from their fighting style I'd say Nara Clan grunts. They were probably being sent out to die anyway," he folded his arms.

"Kinda like you?" the ever-so arrogant Hidan cackled.

"… My eyes alone have more strength in them than your Jashin-sama," Neji stepped over the line.

"I'll fucking end you," Kakuzu had already snatched the scythe from the maniac's back. Hidan stared Neji down.

"Hmph," Neji turned and began walking around the campsite, "Do any of you believe we can use some of their equipment to form a base of operations?"

The elderly man, finished feeding, jumped to his feet as a twelve-year-old brown-haired young boy with a baggy black cloak wearing him, "Of course we can, you butt!" the pre-pubescent scoundrel yelled.

"Quieten down, you brat!" Neji shouted.

"We've been yelling this entire time! Why must _I_ keep quiet?!"

"Because something's coming," Neji's Byakugan automatically activated. He raised his hood back over his head and rotated his head just in case whatever was approaching was in his blind spot.

"Are you picking anything u-?"

"Shut up," Neji interrupted Kisame.

There was silence. Shinji looked back to the crumbling temple in curiosity. It was falling apart even faster now. The roof caved in on itself. Kisame noticed this too, but he assumed it was because the structure was already on the verge of collapse anyway. Hidan looked over to Kakuzu to try and understand the general emotion of the crowd. He wasn't sure whether he should be worried or not, but then again, whatever it was, it wasn't going to kill him. Kakuzu stood patiently. Hiruko, for once, waited unwearyingly. Deidara was already thinking about what attack to use next.

.

.

.

Kakuzu and Neji reacted first, "It's under us!"

The faintest mumble could be heard, "Summoning Jutsu!"

The sand exploded as a giant creature erupted from the earth and wreaked havoc on the surrounding tents and devices. Shinji, surprisingly, was already a hundred metres away. Neji finally landed. Kakuzu landed. Kisame landed. Hiruko landed. Kanemaru landed. Deidara landed.

"Where is this kid?" Kakuzu asked.

"HAHAHA! Jashin-sama, watch over me as I slay this unholy beast!" Hidan was trying to ride the massive creature like a show pony, but it was a lot more than that. Mercenaries with Summoning Jutsu contracts were extremely rare, Summoned Beasts were usually a sign that the battle was already over, so when someone used it to start off a battle it meant they wanted to make quick work of you.

The Summoning was a large and deadly mixture of an elephant with the body of some sort of killer quadruped. As the beast leapt out of its pit it tossed tons of sand into the air, creating a blinding rain of granular droplets. To add to the danger, the beast was modified, so metallic armour was fused to its skin to increase its defensive capabilities. Hidan's scythe wasn't going to break it any time soon. The silver-haired man hopped off as the creature was re-entering the earth, and rolled away before the tail come knock him down.

"It's a setup!" Hiruko noticed the bands of mercenaries exiting small sinkholes within the desert sand at the base of the dune to surround the group, "It's the Nara Clan," he spotted the complex wavy pattern trapped in a circle sitting on their backs. The men came out dressed in dusty red one-pieces that made them as close to invisible as they could get on the arid plains. The gang still had to make their way up the sandy mountain, but that would take them less than thirty seconds, and if they got there whilst the Oumagatoki were looking out for the Death Beast, they would've been at a disadvantage.

"When did the Nara Clan get a hold of a Summoning?" Shinji asked.

"And why on earth is it an elephant? Didn't they tend to the deer before the war?" Deidara asked.

"No time for conversation! Someone come up with something," Kisame grasped Samehada with both hands.

"There's thirty of them," Kakuzu used mental math to get a rough estimate, "I'll take ten, Kisame will take ten, Sasori will take ten-."

"I go by Hiruko in this form."

"Just take ten! The others can worry about the creature!"

The mercenaries were halfway up the dunes.

The man-to-man fights were quick fights and proved that the three members all deserved to be members of Oumagatoki's ranks. Hiruko's lower jaw dislocated from the upper jaw to reveal a mini-cannon. Ten shots. Ten direct hits. If the initial hit didn't kill them. The extremely potent neurotoxic venom did. They collapsed.

"Pathetic," he commented.

Kakuzu brushed them aside by trapping them in their own separate rooms made of four mud walls. He then placed a fifth slab on top of the little room. Solidified the floor. Then just crushed them in their new rock tombs. Kisame, too lazy, to expend too much chakra, blasted nine of them with Water Bomb Jutsu. They drowned as the sand beneath them sucked them in and soaked up some of the water. The last brave soul made it to the top of the hill only to be ground faceless by Samehada.

"These poor fools didn't even deserve to be out in the Wastelands," Kakuzu turned around.

"Watch out!" Shinji was trying to grab on to the monster's armour as it wriggled into the sand again. The young man leapt off. Deidara hovered above the mobile sand as the beast burrowed underneath, blowing apart dunes as it moved.

"The summoner must still be underground," Neji deactivated his Byakugan.

"Well then, let me flush them out!" Deidara dropped a couple of white balls of clay on the battlefield, regardless of who they fell on. Kakuzu quickly slapped one away. Neji dodged a ball as it stuck to the dry grass below and expanded. Hidan caught one and celebrated.

"You idiot!" everyone jumped away, excluding the immortal one.

"ART IS A BANG! KATSU!" the sand was lit up a barrage of clay going off, causing decimation that forced even the elite mercenaries of Oumagatoki to take a knee. Deidara landed as the sand exploded around him, "Who said I couldn't get a confirmed ki-!"

Someone grabbed Deidara's neck and lifted him into the air.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Deidara groaned as he clawed at the air.

"Danzo! I am a reformer. This war has taken too much from my people," the wrinkly old man commented. Deidara looked down at the bandaged elder. He was wearing a white tattered Nara Clan robe with thick bandages covering his right eye and coiled around his right arm. Deidara's eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"I don't care, un!" his hands latched onto the sides of Danzo's face. He kicked away leaving a trail of white clay, "KATSU!" the sand erupted around them. Deidara flipped a few times before landing on his feet with his back to the explosion. He turned to his left. The elephant creature opened its massive mouth and began to inhale.

"Even when you get a kill you can't get a kill!" Hiruko dug his tail into the sand. Hidan planted his scythe into the earth. Kakuzu's feet turned to earth. Kisame grabbed Shinji as he stuck Samehada into the ground. Kanemaru grabbed onto Neji who focused chakra into his feet to stay up. The suction overwhelmed all of them. They were lifted into the air.

Danzo appeared from the sandy crater to attack Deidara just as his feet rose off the hot sand.

"How are you not dead?" the brat cried. Danzo lunged. Deidara slapped him away. The blonde kicked out. The blonde disappeared as a tarpaulin swept him away and into the mouth of the vicious beast.

"KATSU!"

The explosions forced the monster to spit the man out along with a plume of smoke. A panicked Deidara landed on his feet. Hiruko flipped over in mid-air and shot at the man. A poison dart to the shoulder knocked him to his knees. The summoning vanished in a cloud of smoke. The shell of a man landed on its side as Danzo collapsed. Hidan landed on top of Kakuzu, who threw him off instantly. Kisame caught Shinji before he could hit the floor. Kanemaru was still grabbing on to Neji's leg. The irritated Hyuuga rebel kicked the kid off.

"And you yelled at me for killing someone without interrogating them!" Kanemaru whined. Hiruko rolled onto his stomach. He slid over to Danzo's side and grumbled.

"There's a difference between dead and incapacitated. Deidara, carry this idiot so we can interrogate him later!" Sasori commanded. Too exhausted to argue, the blonde lifted the old man onto a clay bird and continued to search the vast desert for any signs of sanctum.

XXX

 _October, 10._

"So, I'm guessing since we're escorting the two most valuable people in the world, then we've all got to be special in some way. Why don't we go around introducing ourselves, how we got here and what our goals are?" the ever-so-energetic Fuu was trying to start a group discussion between the ten enigmatic figures, "I'll go first because you guys are now in the presence of a Tailed Beast Host! The name's Fuu from the Land of Waterfalls! Seven Tails! And I want to be the greatest female mercenary the Wastelands have ever seen!" she lifted seven fingers up to the skies as she roared.

Her youthfulness was greeted by reactions that covered the entire emotional spectrum. Sakura smirked before blushing. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Hoshiko and Asuna shrugged. Itachi didn't care. Naruto kinda liked her energy. In return, Tayuya knew she was going to hate Fuu. Ino and Kin chuckled as they were introduced to someone who could potentially match Naruto's intensity.

"I guess I might as well go next then. Well… my name is Sakura, and I guess unlike most of you I'm from a clan, but not a fighting clan. I'm from the Haruno Clan based in the Land of Fire. I'm guessing I was called up for this job because I spent my whole life practicing and perfecting my medical ninjutsu, to the point where I earned the title of Best Medic South of Central Sanction. My goal is to keep my family alive through the wars because… twelve years ago, prior to us moving to a Sanction, our clan was raided and every male was slaughtered… the females had to take up odd jobs here and there to find us some food, but I want to bring home this money so I can keep my family fed until this huge war ends."

"Who slaughtered your clan?" Kin wanted to know.

Sakura paused, "The Uchiha Clan."

Neither Itachi nor Sasuke flinched upon hearing that their clan was responsible for the pink-haired girl's family's massacre. No clan in the Land of Fire, other than the Senju Clan, was safe from the wave of red and white fans that would invade clans and cut down their male population. If the Uchiha brothers apologised every time they heard a sob story like that, they would have turned into a pair of depressed pushovers a year ago.

"But I don't like to dwell on sombre things like that," Sakura tried to smile, before turning to the next person in line.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka, but you can call me Ino-hime. As I mentioned before I'm from the best clan in the Land of Fire, the Yamanaka Clan, and an expert at using the Family Jutsu, which is probably why my daddy was able to organise me to join this group. Well, I wouldn't really say I have any goals, everything I have my family can hand to me on a silver platter," she giggled, "So do I really need any goals?"

Tayuya rolled her eyes at the platinum blonde's sear arrogance. Naruto shrugged. Sasuke looked back with a raised eyebrow. Ino passed the baton to the young man walking ahead of her.

"Well… my name is Hoshiko. I was born to a noble family in the Land of Frost, but my family wasn't able to hide my great wind manipulation abilities from the world. The Land of Fire got to us first, they stole me from my family and placed me in their Learning Facility until the Hyuuga Clan offered the Facility a sum of money for their two best prospects, hence, I'm here," there were six Learning Facilities, five since Tayuya and Kin destroyed the Land of Sound's Test Tube Facility. The Land of Fire's Facility was the least known because the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan wiped out most clans before they could breed powerful prospects, but a few had managed to slip through the cracks, and Hoshiko was one of those few. Instinctually, the brown-haired man passed the conversation to his black-haired partner.

"Mmh? Oh, my name is Asuna," the woman brushed aside her bangs to reveal a set of onyx eyes. "My story is… roughly similar. Family used to tend to the animals in forests. The sudden distribution of chakra fused with our system and gave two or three of us a Kekkei Genkai. My family sold me for money to help them tend to the forests. The Land of Fire's Facility said they were going to let one person out for the Hyuuga Escort Mission and since Hoshiko refused to leave the Facility without me… here I am."

"Are you two…?" Ino asked.

"Related?" Hoshiko asked.

"Dating," Ino corrected him.

"No," she bluntly denied.

"Asuna and I just go way back!" Hoshiko grinned.

Asuna looked over her shoulder at Tayuya and expected her to introduce herself next.

"My name is Tayuya, and I'm a fucking badass in every sense of the word. I was born in the Land of Sound, sold to the Facility, and broken out by Naruto. Another interesting fact about me is that I'm the Five Tails Host," Tayuya folded her arms as if that made her the strongest member of the group.

"Same here, just substitute Five Tails with Three Tails," Kin didn't want to say too much.

"WELL! My name is Naruto from the Leaf Sanction, dattebayo! I am the Nine Tails Host and I'm a scavenger turned mercenary-," Naruto began.

"Birthday Boy," Tayuya muttered.

Naruto continued, "The reason I was probably invited to this mission, dattebayo, was because of my limitless chakra reserves and the Shadow Clone Jutsu which I discovered whilst raiding Sarutobi Clan Ruins north of the Leaf Sanction-."

"Birthday Boy."

"My goal is to become part of a clan and the only way I can do that is by discovering a very destructive jutsu. When my clan finds out that I've become a great and powerful mercenary maybe then they'll accept me and I can die alongside my parents, dattebayo!"

"BIRTHDAY BOY!" Tayuya jumped on the blonde's back, interrupting the group's strides. Six of the mercenaries, along with Hinata and Hanabi, stopped to giggle as Tayuya straddled the angry blonde. Sasuke was fully willing to walk alone to the Land of Lightning, but Itachi grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

After the chuckles, Hinata introduced herself as the bride-to-be who was simply doing everything because the Hyuuga Clan's reputation was on the line, and Hanabi introduced herself as the young lady who was fully ready to break every Hyuuga Main Family rule on their trip across the world.

Everyone turned to Sasuke and Itachi. The younger Uchiha wanted to stomp away again but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"It would only be formal, and beneficial to the chemistry of this group, for us to introduce ourselves too," Itachi whispered, "Some of you probably already know us as the Uchiha Outcast Brothers. My name is Itachi Uchiha, he is Sasuke of the same clan. Our only goal is to exist post-exile… nothing more."

Fuu extended her hand out to greet the brooding duo, "Welcome to the team."

Itachi looked down at the hand, then looked up into her orange eyes. The older gentleman shook the hand and forced his younger brother to do the same.

Fuu led the way, "So we have two deadly Uchiha Clan members, a medic, two prospects, someone with family in high places and four Tailed Beasts Hosts! I dare the universe to send us an obstacle we can't conquer!"

XXX

"They'll be travelling from the Land of Fire, through the Lands of Grass, Waterfall, Stone, Hot Water and Frost on their way to the Land of Lightning. They're just a bunch of youngsters who don't even know a thing about the Wastelands," Danzo squealed as Kakuzu's whip arm receded into his shoulder socket. The elder's attire, aside from his bandages, had been ripped off leaving space for Kakuzu to ruthlessly torture him. After three or four good lashes it had become apparent that Danzo neither served the Nara Clan nor had any real affiliations to any organisations. If anything, he was just a really manipulative person.

The crew had found a little rundown village about thirty kilometres from the border between Wind Country and Rain Country. The spot was perfect. There was no record of any battle, even between the Senju and the Uchiha, that spanned a radius of thirty kilometres, and they were close enough to the Sand Sanction to grab a few bonds if need be. Hiruko slid in closer to attack the man with more questions, "If these children are really escorting these Hyuuga Princesses, then why were you out here, in the Land of Wind, and not hunting them down?"

"Because of people like you," Danzo said.

Hidan entered the room and leaned his scythe against the wall, "What did he say?"

"Shut up," Kakuzu extended his arm to stop his partner.

"People like us?"

"Factions! Mercenaries who had abandoned their clans and their lands to fight for a different cause. You're a burden to these Wastelands, and as a reformer, it is my job to rid this sacred land of your presence."

"Deidara," Hiruko looked back.

"Mmm?"

"Take him outside and deal with him," Sasori commanded.

"Go with him, make sure he doesn't fuck up," Kakuzu forced his silver-haired partner to follow the blonde man and his bandaged prisoner.

"You might as well go with them, let the grown-ups talk," Kisame urged Shinji to get up and exit the room, leaving Hiruko, Kakuzu, Kanemaru, Neji and Kisame in the dusty wooden room, "So…"

Hiruko turned.

"Are we stopping this whole escort mission?" he mumbled.

"We'd be stupid not to, think about the monetary stipulations!" said Kakuzu.

"The what?" Neji asked.

"The rewards, you dumbass."

"Call me a dumbass again and I'll have no choice but to kill you!"

"There you go again, dropping the 'k-bomb', what happened to talking it out?" Kisame complained.

"Okay, how are we going to do this, slow and painful or quick and even more painful," Deidara dropped the bundle of flesh and blood onto the painfully hot desert sand, "I'm a bit of an artist myself, so if you'd like I could take you out with a bang."

"I think I slow and painful sacrifice to Lord Jashin would be more appropriate, at least you'd die knowing you served a better cause!" Hidan swung his scythe.

"How about we let him go?" Shinji asked.

"What, and I cannot stress this last part enough, the fuck, are you talking about?" Hidan raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, Kisame-sama came from a land of death and merciless killing, so he always tells me about how pointless killing can be sometimes-."

"Oops! I already shoved a bomb down his throat," Deidara kicked the man away before leaping back, "KATSU!" Shinji fell to the sand and scurried away in fear. Hidan stretched his arms out and embraced the blast as it shook the nearby building, brought a section of it down and sent a cloud of sand and smoke into the air.

"AH!" Shinji curled into a ball as the explosion, lifted him, stripped him of his black trenchcoat and dropped him a couple of yards back. Deidara was already on a clay bird manoeuvring away from the shockwave. The force of the blast cause Hidan to backflip into the building which carried him a few metres before dumping him into a sandy hill. Deidara laughed at the sight of his first Oumagatoki kill only to see the bandaged man running through the barren landscape, away from the blonde.

"How?" Deidara asked as he landed. Too stunned to even chase the man down.

Hidan brushed the wooden planks away to sit up, "Are you really that useless, Deidara-chan," the immortal psycho mocked.

"I should blow you up too for that comment, un!"

"You act like that would kill me," Hidan got in Deidara's face. Shinji removed what was left of his black cloak to reveal a fishnet shirt with a black pair of baggy pants and black sandals.

"I will kill you and your immortality!"

"You're such a fucking genius that you don't understand how immortality works! The only way you could kill me is by starving me!"

"You're starting to give me ideas, un!" Deidara growled.

"Silence!" Sasori crawled into the conversation, "You had one job, and one job only. Kill Danzo! So, where's Danzo?"

"He got away!" Hidan roared.

"You're not exempted from this," Kakuzu growled, "You can't tell me that three world-class Oumagatoki mercenaries couldn't kill one old man."

"I shoved a bomb down his throat, what more do you want, un?" Deidara kicked some sand before running into another building that was behind the pile of rubble, they'd once called a hideout.

"I don't have time for his pussy moments, Kisame, go deal with him," Sasori slid into another building to check if it had the makings of a new hideout.

Kisame closed the door as he entered Deidara's building.

XXX

"You had to say something, didn't you!" Sakura mumbled in Fuu's direction as she sat tied down to a tree in a section of the forest where the canopy was so dense, only little streams of light made it to the grassy terrain. A few minutes after Fuu's comment about their crew being unstoppable, a group of bandits ambushed the gang with smoke bombs and sleep powder, no one could react in time as more than twenty men in black jumped down from the trees.

"Shut up, ssu!" Fuu struggled with the chakra threads holding her back. Usually, she would just use brute strength and overwhelm the chakra threads, but the combined chakra of twenty adult bandits was greater than her output without the Seven Tails, "How was I supposed to know that the universe was going to send us an obstacle we couldn't conquer?"

One of the bandits picked up an unconscious Hinata and laid her on a stretcher before tying her down with twenty chakra threads, one from each mercenary. Hanabi was dealt with in a similar manner.

"Well, trust in the Land of Fire to hire a bunch of children for a billion Ryo deal," a man chuckled. He was evidently the leader since his hoodie was beaked with a pair of red eyes, unlike the other nineteen who just had normal camo green hoods.

"Hey, what the hell's going on, dattebayo!" Naruto roused from his slumber and tried to tear the chakra threads apart with his bare hands, "Damn it!" Naruto thrashed around and kicked up some dust.

"You won't get away with this, you fucking assholes!" Tayuya, reacting to the sound of Naruto's whiny voice, awoke and starting kicking too.

"The sleep powder seems to be wearing off so, without further ado, we'll be getting out of here," four bandits lifted Hinata's stretcher off the ground, another four did the same for Hanabi. Naruto's eyes went crimson for a split second, but the anger was drained out of him. The leader returned to the young adults and began sticking paper bombs to all the nearby trees, "It's just a contingency plan, you know, after all, chakra threads eventually wear away and I wouldn't want you kids to follow us to our base or anything."

"Fucking!" Tayuya cussed.

"Choumei!" Fuu lunged.

The chakra threads absorbed her momentum and her chakra before slamming her against the damp tree trunk.

"Luckily, we heard your comment about there being four Jinchuuriki amongst you, so we took the extra measure of giving the chakra threads the ability to absorb Tailed Beast chakra," the head bandit explained as he pasted another paper bomb.

"Fuu! You really need to learn to shut up!" Sakura growled.

"You can't blame me for trying to create a sense of team bonding, ssu! Without me, you would've probably killed each other using Mysterious Brooding Jutsu or something!"

"You knew that there were four Jinchuuriki and you still had the guts to call us kids?" Naruto struggled.

"Wait… how on earth did you learn how to suppress Tailed Beast chakra? Just who are you guys?" Sakura was the only one using her brains in this conversation. Naruto, Fuu and Tayuya continued to try break the strings by feeding them the chakra they needed.

"Let's," the man removed his hoodie to reveal an elderly man with crazy white hair and red lines running down his cheeks, "keep that a mystery, shall we."

"Let's keep moving, you dirty old man," a woman exclaimed somewhere between the sea of black cloaks.

"Kukukuku, such a beautiful pair of eyes, and without that pesky Caged Bird Seal, these two will be perfect specimens," another man hissed as he helped carry Hinata into the forest.

"I have to be off, sorry you didn't get to see the death of the Wastelands," the white-haired man waved goodbye before forming the tiger hand sign and running into the forest for cover. The explosive tags lit up.

"Oi, you can't leave us out here like that, dattebayo!"

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Tayuya's eyes widened.

"CHOUMEI!" Fuu tried to use one last burst of Tailed Beast chakra.

"Shannaro!"

Itachi's eyes opened.

A hundred square metres of forest went up in a blaze. The force of, at minimum estimation, fifty explosive tags going off, ripped through the landscape, uprooted trees and caused woodland creatures to catch fire and evaporate. The fire roared and hissed as it barely missed the white-haired man and towered a hundred metres above him. Refusing to look back, in fear of being caught by the shockwave, the man hurried his gang of bandits into the safety of fresh foliage.

The blast, that could've even made Deidara shed a tear, finally subsided to leave behind a thick layer of smoke, a sizable crater and ten perfectly healthy young adults.

Sakura was the first to cough as air filled her lungs. The pink-haired medic looked up to the greyed sky and realised that she'd survived a death sentence. She grabbed a handful of beautiful green grass and ripped it from the soil, "How?" she asked, noticing that the grass to her right was charred, "What happened?"

Naruto stood up, free from chakra threads, to laugh at their predicament. The blonde had literally just cheated death, but, in all honesty, he didn't have time to think about it. The bandits that took Hinata couldn't have gotten too far.

"We need to get Hinata-hime back," Naruto clenched his fists.

"Hinata-hime?" Tayuya growled.

"Get up Sasuke," Itachi lifted his brother to his feet. The moody eighteen-year-old stared into the dense shrubbery before activating his most iconic ability. The Sharingan. His onyx eyes were suddenly drowned in a crimson hue. His left eye swirled to reveal two tomoes whilst the other eye revealed a single rotating tomoe, "Hunt them down!" he commanded.

Sasuke took a knee and prepared an assassination-style jutsu his beautiful eyes had copied during an epic confrontation between the enigmatic Hatake Clan and his former Uchiha Clan. He went through some hands before grasping his left hand and channelling lightning chakra through his arm.

"I call this jutsu! CHIDORI!" The lightning chirped to life as Sasuke flexed his chakra output. The level of thick energy Sasuke was unleashing upon the terrain not only scared Fuu, Tayuya, and Naruto (who had entities made solely of chakra resting within them), but it woke up Hoshiko, Ino, Asuna, and Kin, before knocking Sakura off her feet. The light grey clouds danced above the heads of mercenaries as they darkened and fell lower to earth. Sasuke looked up, "I've got them!" he tore through the earth as he disappeared into the bushes.

"Let's go," Itachi shunshined away.

The non-Uchihas, still extremely terrified, hesitantly followed the deadly duo into the dark forest. Sasuke's steps were nigh-silent as he bobbed and weaved around trees with Sharingan looked on the beak-hooded man trailing behind the convoy of princess stealers.

"Drop dead!" he gave his position away at the last second. He slipped out of the shadows, expecting the man to be a step too slow, but he was wrong. The lightning technique missed, flew past the two other figures and struck one of the bandits in the back. It bore a hole right through his chest, and gave him ample time to take notice of the fact that he was dying.

"Shit," the man succumbed to the rapid blood loss.

"How did you?" the white-haired man asked.

In an instant, a dark figure dashed around the clearing and cut down sixteen of the remaining nineteen bandits. As he came to a standstill, they all fell and he placed his kunai back in his weapons' pouch. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan.

"Does it matter?" Sasuke asked going down on one knee again.

The three leftover bandits who were able to dodge both Sasuke's Chidori and Itachi's quick massacre stood together and removed their hoodies. The first man was the all-too-familiar white-haired man with red lines running down his cheeks. He had a muscular build and looked like the oldest amongst the trio. The woman in the middle was a blonde with light brown eyes and a tiny blue diamond in the centre of her forehead. She looked like a young woman in her twenties compared to the men around her, who looked like they were in their late thirties to early forties. The last man on the right was a sickly pale middle-aged man with purple streaks around his eyes, pitch black hair and a pair of piercing yellow eyes.

"Kids… how troublesome. Should I just take them both out so we can be on our way?" the pale man asked.

"You see those eyes too, Orochimaru. We're dealing an Uchiha," the white-haired man noted.

"Well they're dealing with a Senju, and not just any Senju. The Tsunade Senju, sister of the God of Mercenaries."

"Oi! You need to teach me that jutsu, dattebayo!" Naruto ripped through the bushes as he entered the clearing and joined the Mexican standoff.

"Move away, you idiot!" Sasuke warned.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Naruto roared.

"FUCK YEAH!" Tayuya exclaimed as she made a beeline for Tsunade.

"Tsunade-hime," the white-haired man warned.

"I'll just need one finger, Jiraiya," she turned, with one hand on her hip and the other hand extended she waited until Tayuya was at arm's length. She flicked her. A crater formed as the Jinchuuriki disappeared into the earth, bloodied and bruised.

"Tayu-chan!" Naruto yelled.

"Wait, Naruto, we need a plan!" Kin emerged from the greenery.

"RAWR!" Naruto's eyes flashed red.

Jiraiya bitch-slapped him into the same crater his partner had just created.

Hoshiko jumped out of the bushes but Kin held her arm out to stop him.

"Hmm?" he stared into her eyes.

"Get back!" she told Ino, Asuna, Sakura and Fuu before they could make it through the foliage.

"CHIDORI!" Orochimaru looked back for a split second and saw that Sasuke's left hand was less than a metre from his back. He shrugged it off. The technique ripped right through his chest.

"Nice one!" Fuu cheered from the background, but neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade flinched.

Orochimaru's head spun 180 degrees so he was staring into Sasuke's eyes, "I bet it feels good to believe you've won… even if it is just for a second," the older man gripped Sasuke's arm to lock it in place, before delivering a very painful bite to the younger lad's neck. The bloodcurdling scream released by the otherwise stoic man was enough to even worry Itachi. The crow king, instead of taking on the trio, rushed to his brother.

"I think it's time to get out of here," Jiraiya realised.

"Even without the princesses?" Tsunade asked.

"A trip from here to the Land of Lightning," Jiraiya looked over his shoulder to check on Itachi. The man was on his knees making sure his clansman was okay. The duck butt-haired Uchiha gripped his neck and cried as the pain coursed through his body in an excruciating fashion, "would take these kids at least a month, I'm sure we'll get more chances," Jiraiya bargained.

"What do you think, Orochimaru?" Tsunade questioned. The sadistic man was quiet for once. His body had frozen mid-stance, "Orochimaru?" Tsunade's eyes traced Orochimaru's gaze from the older man's snake-like eyes to Itachi's blood red pair.

"Help me," he groaned. Itachi's eyes closed. Orochimaru collapsed.

Tsunade quickly picked the Snake Sage up and dashed into the woods.

"We'll be back," Jiraiya promised before vanishing into the forest.

Naruto was breathing heavily as he exited the crater with Tayuya under his arm. The blue-eyed idiot scanned his surroundings to try and understand what just happened, but when it proved futile, he asked Itachi – the only person who wasn't surprised by the demolition crew that had taken out his team.

"I-Itachi? What just happened?"

The eldest mercenary of the group sat down and stared into Sasuke's hazy eyes. He'd used Genjutsu the mercifully knock the young man out, "I don't know," Itachi admitted, "But somehow people know about our movements… I think we should rest here."

"… Agreed."

XXX

 **Another chapter down. As you could tell, there wasn't much attention to the characters in this chapter. It's mainly a springboard to the next few chapters and the rest of the story. Constructive criticism is welcome as long as it's reasonable, so if there's anything you think needs a bit of change then review the story or send me a PM. Favourite it and follow it. Thank you.**


	3. A Team

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** No problem, I feel like beginning chapters by answering reviews helps create a good reader-writer connection and makes you feel like your voice is heard. I'll admit there's some heavy NaruTayu sprinkled here and there, but I want to try keep the pairings ambiguous until they become obvious, but the fact that they're both Jinchuuriki gives them an identically painful past.

 **Darth Tenibris2:** That's a shame. If you're still reading this story, I'd like to know why you think it's a waste of time. Is it the plot, characterisation, setting, use of original characters? I love a bit of constructive criticism. Anything to make my future writing better.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Three: A Team**

XXX

 _October, 10._

After a brief, but all things considered, deadly day in the Land of Fire's Wastelands, the sun had set over the forest's horizon and the dark clouds that had been ominously watching over the quick battle had finally decided to do what they do best, and discharge an ever-lasting burst of petrichor-enriched rain. The leaves livened up as the droplets high-fived them on their way to the well-nourished rainforest's floor. The mercenaries, who were tasked with escorting the most valuable people in the Land of Fire (Aside from the Daimyo, himself), had all released their tents and held them up, a foot or two off the drenched soil, on sticks to avoid getting wet while they slept.

Everyone's favourite knuckleheaded blonde sat silently in his tent trying to contemplate what on earth had just happened. The Wastelands were always a world of death and suffering, but he'd never been on the receiving end of that before, so to see one of his teammates go down that easily shook him up. The fact that this was his first day out of a potential thirty or forty made him feel even worse inside. This was his most rewarding mission ever, the money he won from this task would've been enough to feed his children's children, so there was honestly no room to fk up.

"Penny for your thoughts, Birthday Boy" Tayuya was cutely dressed in an oversized dark pink rain poncho that she'd bought the previous day just for this kind of situation.

Naruto's pupils constricted, "Huh? Oh, um… I'm just worried about… Sasuke," Naruto explained.

"You're worried about someone you only met today?" the redhead wondered.

"Whether we like it or not, we've all got to work together for the next month, dattebayo," Naruto scooted over to make space, at the mouth of his tent, for Tayuya, "Teamwork is a very important skill out in the Wastelands, and a team of ten is greater than ten strong individuals, so the best thing I can do to help us get to the Land of Lightning is care for each and every member of this team as I would want them to care for me."

Tayuya gawked in awe as Naruto utilised his Ninja Art: Inspirition Jutsu to its fullest extent, "You're so hot," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"You're so stupid," she punched the younger man's arm, "I need to get some sleep, you should stop worrying about that fucker and get some as well," the foulmouth chuckled before throwing her hood over her head and walking across the clearing to her raised tent.

Naruto observed his surroundings one more time to get a feel of the people he'd be working with for the rest of this journey. Sakura was in the large Uchiha tent, where Sasuke and Itachi were meant to sleep. She'd taken up the task of healing Sasuke and invited the ladies to the tent for assistance and for a bit of entertainment. Itachi, who didn't like being in his crowded chambers, had gone across the clearing to Hoshiko's tent where he sat there talking to the brown-haired man and Fuu, who chose to exclude herself from the congregation of women. Tayuya returned to her tent, which she was sharing with Kin and Asuna, to get some rest and relaxation. After an incredibly hostile day, it was good to see that everyone was at least trying to get to know each other. The blonde finally dropped his head onto his bed and shut his eyes.

" _ **Take… me… to the moon."**_

Naruto's eyes opened, "Did you say something, Kurama?"

" _ **I heard it too, but I don't know where it came from,"**_ the feral beast growled. It lifted its ear to listen for another faint sound but all he heard were water droplets, soft breathing and depression.

" **It must have been nothing."**

Hoshiko shifted awkwardly closer to Fuu in order to accompany Itachi's wider muscular body. The onyx-eyed weasel lowered himself onto the soft material and sighed.

"How's it going with your little brother, ssu?" Fuu asked.

"I'm trusting in Sakura to keep him safe."

"That's a lot of faith to put into someone you just met," Hoshiko shrugged.

"Perhaps you could look at it as someone I just met, or you could see it from the future as someone I will soon have known for a very long time," Itachi changed the perspectives, "No matter what happens, we'll be together for a while, so the sooner we get acquainted, the sooner we get to the Land of Lightning."

"Damn," Hoshiko was stunned.

Itachi chuckled, "Anyway, what were you two talking about before I got here?"

"I was basically thinking that one of the reasons what happened, happened, was because we don't have a leader. I get that we all want to be equal, but having someone who can relay tactics and help us execute them would help us avoid being all confused like we were a couple of hours ago."

"We were talking about who would be the best candidate for leader, ssu!" the orange-eyed mercenary explained.

"And?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I nominate myself!" Hoshiko grinned.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

"A leader has to be the best member of the team!" he yelled, catching the attention of both Naruto's and Tayuya's tents, "He has to be strong, fast, quick-thinking, precise and stubborn."

"Stubborn?" Fuu wanted reassurance on that last part.

"All qualities you possess?" Itachi asked.

"I have bucketloads of all those qualities," Hoshiko promised.

"Then how come I haven't seen either of those? Last time I checked, you were the last to wake up after that sleeping powder fiasco," Itachi said.

"Watch me! I'm the best candidate for leader in this group!" Sakura opened the Uchiha tent a bit to see where all the yelling was coming from, "And I can prove it anytime and anywhere! Come at me!" he challenged.

"… No, I'm not a fighter, myself, especially not an impromptu fighter. What I will say, though, is that a leader, similar to a writer, is someone who shows not tells. Good night Hoshiko, Fuu."

"You're a very impulsive person," Fuu noticed.

The hot-blooded man looked to his left and smirked, before shuffling to the right to give the Jinchuuriki space to move around, "Perhaps," he rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, ssu. I got into all kinds of trouble for being the unruly woman I am!" Fuu flashed him a buggy grin.

Hoshiko chuckled, "You interest me, Fuu. Tell me a bit about yourself."

Tayuya, seeing that the mild confrontation between Itachi and Hoshiko had died down, entered her tent face-first and landed on her bed. Kin smacked her ass playfully which forced her prop up and join the conversation.

"What the hell?"

"So, how did it go with _Naruto-kun_?"

Tayuya hid her blush, "The fuck, do you mean how did it go? I just wanted to go check up on the Birthday Boy is all," she hit the bed again, this time on her back, and covered her face with a pillow.

"How long are you going to wait to proclaim your love for him?"

"You've grown to comfortable when around me, I like you more when you're a shy piece of shit," Tayuya growled.

"She likes Naruto?" Asuna asked sipping on a small cup of tea that she'd made when the gang settled down. The vantablack-haired woman stared across the dimmed clearing at the blonde who was trying to contentedly rest his body on the slightly raised bed, "Why?" was a good question.

"I don't fucking like him," Tayuya screamed just enough for her pillow to absorb 95% of it.

"What she means to say is that, she'd tried to escape that Facility so many times and when people found out that she was from the Facility they'd shun her or just take her back because subjects are usually seen as dirty, undeserving of freedom and born just to fight other humans… you'd know the feeling," Kin began. Asuna nodded having just gotten out of the Land of Fire's Facility. Tayuya didn't say anything, she just lay there with her pillow on her face, "She's not willing to admit it, neither am I, and probably neither are you, but whenever you find someone who's actually willing to help you knowing that you're from a place as horrible as a Facility… it makes you think that that person has seen your worst, so they can't unlove you from then on… it makes you want to hold onto them forever, because you might never get that love ever again. Am I right?"

"… Shut the fuck up," Tayuya didn't scream, it sounded like she was too busy fighting away tears and an eventual shuddering sob, "Please."

"Can I ask one thing though?" Asuna persisted.

"What?" Kin asked.

"No," Tayuya whispered.

"Why Birthday Boy?"

Kin looked over her shoulder, "That… only Tayuya can tell you," the redhead ignored them both and pretended to be asleep, "But I feel like since she hasn't even told me what's her deal with birthdays, you'll probably never hear what that's actually about."

Tayuya sighed.

 _A much younger redhead sat at the top of a hill looking over a vibrant Land of Sound. The war-free village of D Minor was decorated with music notes, built from sonorous woods and metals that would make sweet music when a fresh breeze ran through them and bards that roamed the village improving on their melodic talents. The hazel-eyed cutie giggled as a pair of aromatic hands covered her eyes._

" _Who's that?"_

" _Take a guess, Birthday Girl."_

" _Daimaru-kun?" she guessed correctly. The village's most gifted eight-year-old hopped over the seven-year-old angel and held a little package in his hands, "Why do you call me Birthday Girl all the time?" the little boy was always the first to acknowledge the lady's birthday, and he would repeat it to the point where it got annoying._

 _"You see it takes a lot of brain power just to remember things, and most times menial things like remembering the date of someone else's birth, usually takes the backseat for most people. So, I really value people who are willing to use those spare brain cells to remember something useless like my birthday, and to prove to people that I value you, I remind you of the fact that I'm using these few brain cells to remember something that may be useless to me," that wasn't how brain activity worked, but Tayuya was eight and to her that sounded like a solid enough science, "Basically, remembering someone's birthday is the ultimate show of love for me."_

 _"Well then why are we out here on my birthday? We don't want to be caught in a chakra burst," the toddler complained. The village elders told tales of how every quarter of the year, at four in the afternoon, chakra bursts (shockwaves of chakra that appeared at the hour of Princess Kaguya's death) would rush across the world, spreading her dying words and causing children to be filled with her evil. Thus, every quarter, at four, people would return to their homes, lock the doors, close the airholes and hide in hopes of surviving the wave._

" _You realise the chakra wave things are all just myths right, our elders are always trying to keep us down, Birthday Girl."_

" _Aww, you're so bad," Tayuya loved Daimaru's carefree attitude, "What's in the box?"_

" _Open up and see, Birthday Girl," the redhead brushed a strand of hair aside to free up her face, before carefully unwrapping the box and tearing the cardboard to reveal a beautiful silver flute, "You said you always wanted to join the D Minor School of Music, but your parents couldn't afford to buy you an instrument… so here's your ticket to success."_

 _Tayuya couldn't hold the tears back. She tried turning back to fan the tears dry, but Daimaru grabbed her wrist passionately and stared into her eyes. His faded blonde spiky hair waved in the wind as he blinked._

" _Daimaru…"_

" _Yes?"_

" _I… I…" Tayuya couldn't get the words out. The moment was too perfect. She grabbed his other hand and struggled to breathe… suddenly she was genuinely struggling. She felt heavy and tense. Daimaru's face turned blue, "What?"_

" _Birth… day… Girl."_

" _ **Kaguya-okaasan!"**_

" _ **NOOO!"**_

 _The wind spoke. A blue wave of heated energy hurried over the village dealing extensive damage to buildings and landscapes. The destruction was enough to level buildings and decimate crops. Tayuya gripped her flute tightly and closed her eyes. Using the last of his energy, Daimaru shielded Tayuya from the trailing wave that did one of two things. That turned out to be the three hundred, and sixty-first wave. For some people, it unlocked the final chakra point located in the chest, allowing them to mould chakra into ninshuu and later ninjutsu. For others, it overwhelmed their chakra pathway system and boiled them from the inside out, causing them to evaporate. Tayuya was the former. Daimaru was the latter._

 _Her boyfriend melted away in her hands._

Tayuya gripped her flute, rolled onto her side and fell asleep.

"How is it going?" Itachi lifted his Uchiha tent's flap to check on his brother. The young man was sleeping half-naked surrounded by Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Hanabi. The pink-haired medic had cleared up a table, placed him on said table, tied her hair into a messy bun using her red headband, and started the process of healing the younger man using bright green chakra. A symbol had been drawn along the floor in the centre of the room, under Sasuke's table, that ran out and surrounded a seated Hinata, Ino, and Hanabi.

"He'll live," she explained, "But removing the seal on his neck is proving to be a lot more difficult!" her hair fluttered as the chakra splaying out from her hands intensified.

Itachi sauntered through the room until he reached a two-seater bench, "My only concern was for his life, I could not imagine a world without my brother."

"Aw," Hinata lifted her head. The symbol under her body unravelled.

"Hinata-san! Chakra!" Sakura warned. The lavender-eyed woman redid the tiger seal, reforming the symbol beneath her silky body.

"What exactly are they doing?" Itachi asked.

"Surgeries like these take up a lot of chakra," Sakura started, "And while I probably have the most impressive chakra control in the Land of Fire, my chakra reserves aren't as impressive, thus our Sanction healer taught me this jutsu that allows me to use chakra from up to four individuals at a time… it also helps to have a little light conversation going on while doing a procedure."

"We were just talking about girl stuff," Ino blushed.

"We were talking about fucking," Hanabi smiled crudely.

"Hanabi! Language!" Hinata scolded her little sister.

"Japanese! English? Are we being subbed or dubbed?"

"That's not what I mean?" Hinata yelled.

"Guys, focus, this operation could take hours, or maybe days, depending on how-," Sakura was interrupted by Sasuke flinching. Her hands flew back as chakra rushed out of the young man's body. They all blinked as he dashed across the tent and landed on his feet, "Or… a few minutes."

The young Uchiha's body released steam as his body extended to the full height of 170 cm. He searched the room for his white shirt, threw it on and turned around as he buttoned his shirt up. When he noticed the four women he finally spoke, "What are you doing in our tent?"

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura took a step forward, "How are you feeling?"

"Kun?" Ino's head tilted.

"I'm fine, and that doesn't answer my question," Sasuke muttered.

"Maybe you ladies should return to your own tents, give my brother some time to rest."

"No wait, I need to do a few more tests, and check-ups," Sakura said as the other three ladies walked her out of the large tent.

"Are you in fighting form?" Itachi asked.

"As always."

XXX

"Are you crying, kid?" Kisame asked leaned his bandaged sword against the crumbling wall. The blonde was sitting on the remains of a couch staring out the window at a setting sun.

"Of course I'm not crying, it's just irritating to be paired off with someone like Sasori," he blew his bang away from his eye, but the action proved futile.

"You should be glad," Kisame sat on a chair adjacent to the boy's couch, "You found yourself an artist, and a natural mentor at that."

"I would hardly call Sasori an artist, un!"

"Calm down! This place has thin walls."

"I don't care, un! You're a bad artist!" Deidara yelled. Kisame slapped him on the back of the head.

"Believe it or not, for a young developing reckless motherfucker like you, Sasori is the best mentor you could have scored. His attacks are slow and precise to complement your fast and random destruction. He's one of our strongest members so if you're stuck, he can get you out of a tough situation. The guy once took down an entire country for Kami's sake," Kisame tried to convince the explosives expert, "The guy's been through a lot so I'm sure he's a little difficult, but I mean Nagato, Yahiko and Konan are already a confirmed trio, Neji would've killed you by now, Kakuzu would've killed you twice by now, Kanemaru doesn't like explosives-."

"Okay, okay, I get you, he's the best possible match for me, un."

"Yeah, so try work with the guy, maybe get some sweet artistic combos in now and then," Kisame stood up.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be like a bloodthirsty killer swordsman or something."

"I am," Kisame paused.

"You sure as hell are the nicest murderer I've ever met."

Kisame deadpanned, "I could kick your ass if you want me to?"

"No, no, no, un. I was just complimenting you," Deidara raised his hands in defence.

XXX

 _October, 11… Midnight_

Space and time distorted into a single point as the trees rustled and a breeze flowed through the Ten-Man Hyuuga Chaperoning Team's temporary base. The anomaly only ceased when a man in pitch black landed on one of the surrounding trees' hefty branches. He appeared and placed his hand on the trunk to lean on it.

"Don't you think this is a little risky?" an entity began to sprout from out of the tree's trunk.

"What?" the orange-masked man shrugged.

"Being so close to these guys so early in their mission?"

"Do you think they can see us? Just look at them," the masked man pointed at the whiskered blonde who forgot to close his tent flap. The hyperactive knucklehead was out cold in a full-spread eagle position that allowed all four of his limbs to touch a corner of the tent, "We can talk as loud as we want and no one would hear us."

" **Yeah, yeah, yeah, Tobi, what did you want to do here anyway?"**

"Hmm? I just wanted to make sure they're okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I got word that they were attacked during the day, so I wanted to make sure they all survived," Tobi turned to face Zetsu, "Lord Pain wants them alive."

" **Yeah? And what if they had all been slaughtered? What would you have done?"**

Tobi stared at the clearing. The rain continued to fall. He looked up at the faint moon's dim light as it tried to penetrate from behind dense grey clouds. Tobi removed his hood before saying, in a deep voice, "Mourned."

XXX

 **So, chapter three has a little more background exploration to it, and a bit more teambuilding, or at least some attempts at teambuilding. If you're liking the story feel free to follow it and favourite it, so you can know when the next chapter's coming and if you have anything to say whether positive or negative about the story or where you see the story going, then review it or if you don't want to say it publicly then PM me. See you around.**


	4. Exposing the Faults

**Reviews**

 **BigInferno:** Yeah, even though Tayuya is oldest of the three, it appears Kin is the most mature and the only voice of reason when it comes to Tayuya.

 **LtFuzzleButt:** Thank you, she's one of my favourite characters, so I feel like I have to do her character some justice.

 **Quad:** I noticed, but I tried to make his comment seem less embarrassing by allowing him to add something of substance to it, but it appears he continues to dig his own grave.

 **Darth Tenibris2:** Please don't have some sort of tantrum in my reviews section, it has no effect on my writing, and just adds to the cringe-factor on your part.

 **AlphaScribe:** Thank you, I'll try not to disappoint.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Four: Exposing The Faults**

XXX

 _October, 11._

"To prove to you that I'm a capable leader, today, I'll be leading from the front!" Hoshiko said as he lifted his backpack onto his shoulder, and threw the second strap over his arm. The brown-haired man flashed his self-proclaimed rival a grin before giving him a thumbs up.

Itachi didn't really care, he just shrugged it off and said, "Whatever you want, as long as it doesn't get you killed," the weasel got to his feet and looked back to his most precious person. Sasuke had lowered the shoulders on his white shirt to his elbows, exposing the smouldering circle on his neck, "Are you sure you're fighting fit?" Itachi wanted to make sure.

"I'm fine!" Sasuke had never shouted at his brother before, because he knew the quiet Uchiha had the ability to whip his ass if he wanted to. The older man just glared, but chose not to do anything because his brother was in obvious distress, "Let's get moving!"

"Hey, I'm the only one who can say let's get moving," Hoshiko intervened. Sasuke's eyes flashed red, "… let's get moving."

Tayuya slotted her flute into her back pocket and sighed before sealing her tent.

"Have you mustered up the strength to tell Naruto you love him yet?" Kin asked.

"Shut, and I cannot stress this next part enough, the fuck up."

"I'm just saying because it looks like someone else has their eyes on him already."

"WHO?" Tayuya lifted her head. Kin pointed to another section of the clearing. She was pointing to the Hyuuga Tent where Hinata and Hanabi were rolling up their tent, with Asuna's assistance. Tayuya was the first to notice the fact that every so often, Asuna would stop rolling up the tent to stare in Naruto's direction. The hot blonde was standing shirtless over his backpack, "I let that bitch sleep in my tent last night. If she turns to him one more time, I will shave her fucking head off."

"Am I sensing jealousy?"

"You can't get jealous over someone that's not yours," Tayuya admitted.

"Au contraire, being jealous over someone that's not yours is probably the most painful feeling ever," Kin said.

"Jealous?" Tayuya blushed, "I didn't mean jealous, I meant… just pick up the fucking supplies!"

"No wait… I want to see how this plays out."

"How what plays out?" Tayuya looked back. As soon as Hinata sealed her tent, Asuna sauntered over to the half-naked blonde who was staring up at something, "She better walk past him, she better fucking walk – oh no, she's talking to him."

Naruto did a little jump, but seemed to be too lazy to climb the large tree he was standing next to.

"What are you looking at?" Asuna asked calmly as she approached.

"Hey, As… As…"

"Asuna."

"Sorry, I'm not good at naming people I don't usually talk to, dattebayo."

"It's okay," the black-haired test subject looked up into the mighty Japanese cedar, "It's a beautiful tree, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but I'm more interested in that," Naruto said turning the pale woman's attention to his mesh shirt which had somehow ascended a few metres and was being assessed by a scurry of tree squirrels. They were all sniffing at the fabric and rubbing their paws against it.

"How did it get up there?" she asked.

"Take a wild guess, dattebayo. I was hanging it, to get some of the moisture out and…"

"… I'll get it down for you," Asuna said.

"How are you gonna do that?" Naruto asked.

Asuna lifted her bangs to expose her onyx eyes, "Hey there," she whispered as her dark irises went pitch black and covered her sclerae. The squirrels stopped in their tracks, picked the shirt up and raced down the tree trunk to hand it over to Naruto. Upon releasing her technique, the wild creatures scurried back up the bark.

Naruto's eyes widened as his face lit up, "A Kekkei Genkai?"

"Yeah, it's the reason my clan sold me off to the Land of Fire Facility," she said as her eyes went from pure black to onyx with white sclerae.

"What's it called?"

"They never really gave it a name; my family was always too scared to admit it even existed until I was born."

"… Since we've got the Sharingan and the Byakugan… how about the Doubetsugan?"

"Animal Eye? How… creative," she rolled her eyes, "But it's better than anything I could've thought up."

In the Wastelands, having a Kekkei Genkai was a game-changer. In fact, summonings came about as a counter for Kekkei Genkai users. Bloodline Limits were techniques that could only be discovered by people sharing the same DNA, and even then, it could be rare amongst those who shared the same blood. Kekkei Genkai ranged from visual techniques, audio techniques, elemental combinations, and even bone density transformations. The most famed Kekkei Genkai users were none other than the Uchiha Clan, and their almighty power came down to the fact that more than half of them had the ability to activate their deadly visual jutsu.

Naruto turned to the pale woman as she cracked a little Mona Lisa smile, "You need to tell me more about what it's like to have a Kekkei Genkai, Asuna. I have to admit, you're a very impressive per… are you okay, Tayu-chan?" the blonde noticed the redhead standing over them in the corner of his eye. There was a faint twinkling in her hazel orbs as she grinded her teeth.

"I'm okay… hey, your boyfriend said it's time to go," Tayuya turned to Asuna.

"Hoshiko? He's still not my-."

"TIME TO GO!"

Sakura walked over to Sasuke who was still rubbing his injury, "Sasuke-kun, if you want us to stay here and nurse your wounds then I can tell the group to-."

"Only a weakling would delay a bond like this just because of a little scratch. If I need healing, I will tell you."

XXX

After five straight hours of walking through the forest Hoshiko, as promised, was leading from the front as 'a leader would'. Itachi was right behind him, talking to Fuu about something that seemed very interesting. Naruto and Asuna had decided to continue their conversation about Kekkei Genkai techniques much to Tayuya's disapproval. The grumpy redhead followed closely behind with Kin in front of her, stopping her from punching the emo woman to death. Ino, Sakura and Sasuke were manning the rear to make sure no one could surprise the gang like before. Between the three Fire mercenaries and the two Sound-born mercenaries walked the two most valuable people in the Wastelands, Hinata and Hanabi Hyuuga.

"My feet are sore!" Hanabi complained, "How much farther until the Land of Lightning?"

"Another month or two," Ino explained.

"Did you say a month? Ugh, I regret coming on this trip."

"Why did you come anyway if you were going to be a nuisance?" Sasuke growled.

"As I said, I wanted to let loose and party for once in my life."

"I'll tell Hiashi-sama if you do anything like that?" Hinata scolded her younger sister.

"Come on onee-chan, get that stick out of your ass," Hanabi giggled. Hinata furiously turned to her young sister.

"Yeah, I agree with her," Naruto put his hands behind his head and grinned, "I mean, we're getting paid _a lot_ of money for this bond, why don't we let loose?"

"That could extend our estimated time of arrival to two months or even three," Sakura protested.

"Are you in any rush to be married off, Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked.

"Not really."

Naruto looked back to Sakura who just shrugged, "I wouldn't mind a drink or two to calm the nerves, especially after what happened yesterday."

"My body is a temple, but sure, when we stop off at the next Sanction we can grab something to drink," Ino smirked.

"Hey! Only the leader gets to make the decisions," Hoshiko turned around and walked backwards.

"And who made you the leader exactly?" Sasuke grunted.

"Me, of course," Hoshiko pointed to his chest.

"Shouldn't a leader be the most powerful member of the group?" Sasuke asked.

"Damn right," the test subject grinned.

"So, I should be prime contender in that regard."

Hoshiko's eyes widened, "In what world?"

"In every world, face it, you're physically inferior to me," was Sasuke's claim.

"Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?" Hoshiko smirked.

"There's no time to stop, the border into the Land of Rain is right over this hill," Itachi intervened, "We can relax there and decide whether we want to spend the night or keep moving."

"Borders? Doesn't that usually mean turmoil?" Sakura cautiously asked.

Hoshiko turned to face forward and roared, "We'll fight our way through it."

"What he said, dattebayo!"

XXX

"Damn," Naruto put his hands behind his head as he stood on top of a damp blood red hill, "I think I would've preferred to see turmoil," the blonde swallowed hard. The twelve travellers had finally reached the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, and instead of running into groups of fighting mercenaries, they had bumped into piles and piles of fresh corpses.

"What could have happened here?" Hoshiko asked.

"Does it matter? Our mission is not to find out what killed this people, only to deliver the Hyuuga Princesses and to claim our bounty," Sasuke grunted.

"You're not even a little bit worried about these innocent people, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto yelled.

"What did you call me… usuratonkachi?"

"Naruto, don't be so rude to Sasuke-kun," Sakura said.

"You heard exactly what I said, I've only known you for a day and I'm already tired of your emotionless emo ass!" Naruto admitted.

"So much for trying to get to know each other, ssu," Fuu chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

"Say that to my face!" Sasuke commanded.

Naruto took two steps closer, "I'm already tired of your-."

"Fire Style!" Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke weaved through the hand signs. Itachi's fingers moved quicker, "Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Wall!" he cancelled out the technique, turning it into steam. The rest of the crew landed some distance away from the Uchiha brothers. The older Uchiha grabbed his fiery younger brother's arm, but Sasuke literally threw Itachi back and smirked. The symbol on his neck began to glow.

Naruto landed.

"It takes a special kind of coward to go for a cheap shot like that!" Naruto looked up. Sasuke was already running. Naruto's fingers crossed, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Sasuke kicked Naruto square in the jaw, the blonde turned to clouds. Another clone grabbed Sasuke from behind, locking him in a full nelson. The emo resisted, dispelling the body double. Naruto appeared to uppercut the Uchiha. Flames spread across his face as he landed carefreely. He weaved some familiar hand signs, then dropped his left hand to the earth.

"Chidori!"

" _This technique again? I don't have anything in my arsenal to block it,"_ Naruto noted. Sasuke lifted his chin to reveal one double-tomoed Sharingan, and one single-tomoed Sharingan. _"Here he comes!"_

"Drop dead!" Sasuke prepared to rush forward, but Itachi seized his arm again. Sasuke screamed as a purple aura shrouded his being and clouded his judgement. Fuu wrapped two wings around the Uchiha's other arm. Kin flung three senbon, they penetrated the back of Sasuke's knee. Sasuke just overloaded the trio with a surge of deadly chakra, knocking them all back.

Itachi landed on his feet, "Where did all this chakra come from?" he asked himself as Sasuke charged. Naruto gulped.

Time began to slow down for Hoshiko. He exhaled as his vision cleared and chakra rapidly flowed through his body. The man's eyes went blue. Within a second, Hoshiko was gone. Naruto ran horizontally, but Sasuke's intensified speed propelled him into the blonde. Out of nowhere, Hoshiko shoulder-charged him.

Sasuke rolled across the sandy earth and landed on top of a dead body. His crimson eyes reverted to their original onyx colouring. He lifted his upper body to stare at the brown-haired man, who dusted himself up. Hoshiko smirked.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke stood upright, "I knew there was something wrong with your chakra pathways."

"Are you impressed?" Hoshiko folded his arms.

"If I actually cared… no, I'd be more concerned than impressed. That technique will be the death of you," Sasuke said.

"Jealous," Hoshiko scoffed.

"Is that it?" a voice asked. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at a man who was sitting cross-legged on a huge pile of dead bodies. His long white hair waved in the blood-soaked wind as he sat there, "We were hoping you'd take each other out, so retrieving the Hyuuga Princesses would be that much easier."

"We?" Naruto asked.

Itachi turned, pulled a kunai knife out, and blocked Tsunade's attack.

"An ambush, huh? Cowards!" Sasuke roared as Orochimaru appeared from behind another pile of corpses.

"Look who's talking," Naruto deadpanned.

"How long have you guys been following us?" Sakura questioned.

"We don't care about you kids. All we want are the princesses," Jiraiya explained. The older man got to his feet and stretched his arms out, "Has the idea of being paid clouded your judgment to the point where you can't see a suicide mission when you receive one?"

"The only thing I see, is some ass that needs kicking, ssu!" Fuu punched her open palm.

"Be careful with these three, they've beaten us before," Itachi advised before kicking Tsunade into a pile of rotting flesh.

Naruto vaulted over Hoshiko and went straight for Jiraiya. The white-haired mercenary chuckled. He clenched his fist.

"Didn't expect me now, did you, ssu!" Fuu lunged at the man. He dodged. Senbon soared. Jiraiya flipped, mid-air, to dodge Kin's attack. When he landed, he had to perform a few more acrobatic backflips to dodge all of Naruto's shadow clones. Naruto, Kin and Fuu were his challengers.

"Kukukuku, it looks like your hands are quite full, Jiraiya," Orochimaru cackled as he dodged Ino's swipes. The blonde leapt for a kick. Orochimaru bobbed. Music played. Orochimaru hopped over three balls of nigh-invisible chakra. As they hit the floor they exploded, submerging the slippery freak in dust, "What?"

The dust cloud lit up, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Orochimaru took a direct hit. Sasuke stood over the snake with flames running across his face, "So, you've already learned to use my power?"

"This newfound strength belongs to no one but me!" Sasuke kicked Orochimaru, square, in the chest, sending him back a few metres. Tayuya put her flute to her lips. Ino cracked her knuckles. Sasuke went on the attack.

Tsunade took a few steps forward. She pulled her fist back. Itachi caught it. Sakura and Asuna came from either side of the buxom blonde with kunai knives. Tsunade was able to jump back in time. Itachi jumped forth. Tsunade connected. The Uchiha turned to crows. When Tsunade looked around she was surrounded by the three mercenaries. Sakura swallowed hard. Itachi stood nonchalantly. Asuna analysed the battlefield.

"It looks like I'm in charge of making sure they don't get to you, Hinata-hime," Hoshiko walked up to the beautiful woman, who appeared to be extremely worried. The mercenary sauntered over to her as she sweated profusely.

"Um… Ho-Hoshiko," Hinata tapped the man's shoulder.

"No need to thank me, I'm just doing my job as a leader. We're always sacrificing our need to fight for the sake of the mission," Hoshiko smiled to himself.

"Hosh-," Hinata tapped furiously.

"Don't worry, Hinata-hime, if someone does come this way, you can be assured that I'll be there to protect you. Your health comes first."

"HOSHIKO!" Hinata yelled, which was the equivalent of someone else speaking normally.

"Hinata-hime?"

"Someone is taking my sister!" she cried.

"What?!" Hoshiko scanned the horizon in panic. A man in red disappeared into the forest, officially entering the Land of Rain, dragged behind her the heiress to the Hyuuga's Main Family throne, "How did that happen?"

"Does it matter? Get my sister!" Hinata shouted.

Hoshiko took a deep breath in. Chakra flowed through him. He vanished into the forest, leaving behind him a trail of smoke. Hinata backed up. Hoshiko was gone.

XXX

"Just my luck. I get stuck with three out of the group's four Jinchuuriki," the way Jiraiya made that statement, it was as if taking on Jinchuuriki, let alone three, was an average, everyday activity for him, "Okay, who wants to come at me first?"

Fuu flipped, and whilst in mid-air went through some hand signs, "Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Sneak Jutsu!" she released a luminous burst of scale powder that blinded the mercenary. Jiraiya performed some hand signs before moving back, closer and closer to the Land of Rain's forest. Naruto sent a few shadow clones in with kunai knives to deliver the final blow. Jiraiya launched a couple of shuriken to dispel all of them. The light continued to blind the hermit. Kin flung some senbon, which Jiraiya deflected with a kunai knife.

"Is your light even doing anything to him?" Naruto asked, shielding his eyes. Fuu closed her mouth and raised an eyebrow. The light subsided. The old man stood upright to reveal a pair of toads sitting on his shoulders. His worty toad-like appearance grossed the Jinchuuriki out.

" **I'm impressed Jiraiya-boy, you summoned us faster than usual,"** the female toad on the hideous fighter's left shoulder remarked.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gathering chakra beforehand in preparation for this exact fight," he said.

" **I'm less impressed by the fact that you're wasting Sage Mode on teenagers,"** the elderly male toad commented.

"Don't underestimate them, Fukasaku-sama, they're all Jinchuuriki."

" **Three Jinchuuriki in one place? Never did I think I'd see the day,"** Fukasaku sounded surprised.

"Five, if you include the redhead over there."

" **Well then, it shall be an honour to fight such worthy opponents."**

Fuu sprouted a pair of wings. They flapped vigorously as the mint-haired woman levitated, "I believe this battle will require use of our Tailed Beasts, ssu."

"I'm on board," Kin smirked as a single turtle tail protruded from behind her.

"I think I'll stick to my own powers, dattebayo. I don't think I'll need such powers to take on this old hermit!" Naruto crossed his fingers.

" **The blonde one seems rather cocky. Let's give them a little scare, shall we,"** the old lady toad sighed.

Naruto's eyes widened. Fuu fell out of the sky. Kin swallowed hard. Jiraiya shattered the ground below him, raising plumes of dust, blowing the corpses, and destroying the Jinchuuriki's minds as they were exposed to a jutsu they'd never comprehended before.

"RASENGAN!" the earth shuddered.

XXX

"Sharingan activated," Itachi performed some hand signs before bringing his fingers up to his mouth to form a hole with his index finger and thumb, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

Even Sakura and Asuna had to leap into the air as the searing heat of a deadly Uchiha-class fireball bore down on Tsunade. She weaved some hand seals of her own, then clapped her hands together. The fireball exploded around her, but she still managed to effortlessly lunge at Itachi. The Uchiha hopped back before Tsunade could get her hands on him. The blonde had already forgotten about the woman hovering above her.

"Hit her with something," Asuna said as they began descending.

"I don't have any long range jutsu," Sakura explained.

"I'll have to try something then… Water Style: Water Whip!" Tsunade converted her punch into a jumping spin-kick, but Asuna caught her ankle with the water whip. The stoic woman landed, and went through another quick set of hand signs before focusing on the whip again, "Lightning Style: Lightning Palm," she channelled lightning through the aquatic weapon.

The blonde didn't move, choosing instead to light up the diamond on her forehead, "Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration," the tiny diamond spread tendrils across her face. The lightning current hit her, frying her skin, which healed instantly. She broke free of the water, surprising all three of her opponents.

"What kind of healing jutsu is that?" Sakura was bewildered.

"She broke my whip?" Asuna tried to stay cool.

"Hmph?" Itachi dodged Tsunade's swipe, but as his head lowered, he dodged straight into a powerful kick. The force of the kick, cracked his skull and sprayed blood across the battlefield.

Tsunade's eyes widened, "What kind of clone-?" Itachi lit up. Tsunade escaped the blaze with a slide across dusty terrain. When she got to her feet, three more Itachi clones landed around the female duo, "This feels like it's going to be interesting," is all Tsunade had to say.

XXX

"16-Hit Combo!" Ino announced as Orochimaru evaded all sixteen attacks. He dropped into the earth as Sasuke swung overhead, before appearing under Tayuya and rocking her chin. The redhead dropped her flute, but rushed to retrieve it. Orochimaru snaked around a pile of dead bodies to dodge Sasuke, and headbutted Tayuya into the ground.

Sasuke appeared behind Orochimaru. The pale man grinned. The Uchiha swung. Orochimaru caught it, "And here I was thinking that you'd learned how to harness my power," he chuckled.

"MY POWER!" Orochimaru was blown back by a whirlpool of purple chakra.

The man was tossed so violently, he could do nothing but cackle at the pain. "More," Oro chuckled as he vomited himself out. The new body was fresher, free of any bruises and blood stains, "Show me how you abuse my strength!"

"Ahh!" Sasuke pulled out a kunai knife from his pocket before picking a demon wind shuriken out of someone's body, "Draw!" he threw the kunai knife. Orochimaru prepared to block. Sasuke appeared above the snake sage to throw the demon wind shuriken. Orochimaru's head spun 180 degrees to stare Sasuke in the eyes as the youngster vanished.

Music played.

It boggled Orochimaru's mind for long enough. Sasuke kicked Orochimaru so hard, he flew into the forest. Sasuke chased after him. Tayuya followed. Ino was the last one into the Land of Rain. As soon as she entered the forest, the infamous never-ending rain began to fall, wetting her.

XXX

"Fucking let go of me!" Hanabi screamed as she was dragged through the Land of Rain's mossy damp surrounding forest. The moist grass and puddles of mud ruined her royal silken dress as the bearded man carelessly hauled her, "Do you know who you're dealing with? The Hyuuga Clan's one and only heiress, even the Land of Rain's daimyo wouldn't want anything to do with your ass after finding out what you did to me!"

The man picked Hanabi up and banged her against a mossy tree, "What I did to you? This is nothing, princess. Unless you haven't noticed, there's nothing on me that says Land of Rain, I don't have any of the ethics or fear those bastards have! What I do to you depends on my own free will!"

Hanabi stared into the man's vicious eyes. She tried her best to not show him a hint of fear, but he banged her against the tree again and again, smashing her head against the bark. The redhead only stopped when Hanabi coughed up a bit of blood, meaning she was on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Stop, please," she whispered.

"If you weren't supposed to be a distraction, I would've killed you already. The Land of Fire deserves everything that's coming to it…"

Hoshiko walked up to the man, who's movements seemed turtle-like in Hoshiko's eyes, "You monster!" he backhanded him into a tree. Hanabi dropped to the floor, "Are you okay, Hanabi-hime?"

"Fuck you, you had one job," Hanabi coughed up some more blood.

"Monster," the man laughed as he got to his feet, "You don't know how right you are," the redhead continued to cackle as red-hot chakra engulfed him, before formulating into a single wispy tail.

"A Jinchuuriki?" Hoshiko shivered.

"Burn for me! Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!" Roshi spat out a deadly barrage of massive orbs of flaming earth.

Hoshiko picked Hanabi up under his arm and zipped away. The rocks smashed into trees, burning through the wood, and exploded before raining down as drops of lava. The duo was suddenly submerged by a cloud of ashy dust. One of the droplets brushed Hoshiko's knee, sending him to the floor with a torn suit.

"You can't run," Hanabi whispered.

"You obviously haven't been watching me do just that for the past minute," Hoshiko laughed.

"No, I mean your jutsu. You're constantly channelling wind chakra through your body, if wind chakra comes in contact with fire chakra it forms a firestorm, and I don't think you'd want that happening inside your body."

"Don't you think I know all of this?" Hoshiko jumped to his feet, "I've faced hundreds of mercenaries from the Land of Fire, and I've always used my enhanced speed to do so, I'm not going to stop this time!" he vanished.

"You're proud of your ability to run away? How insulting!" the Jinchuuriki came down hard. It caused a shockwave to ripple outwards. Hoshiko ran at full speed. He ran so quickly, it split the lava shockwave, giving him a clear path to Roshi. Hoshiko ran past Roshi, and into the shrubbery. He decelerated and came to a halt about fifty metres away. The speedster was struggling to breathe.

"I call that jutsu… Secret Taijutsu… Bursting Force," Hoshiko turned to face the Jinchuuriki as the redhead collapsed onto one knee. Refusing to satisfy the speedsters need for battle Roshi clutched his stomach, before leaping into the forest as a form of retreat.

"Did I not do my one job, Hanabi-hime?" Hoshiko asked.

"He called me a distraction… he's going after Hinata-onee-chan," Hanabi explained. Hoshiko looked up to the dark grey clouds as the forest fires surrounding them began to die down.

"The other nine can protect Hinata-hime," Hoshiko said picking Hanabi up and positioning her on his back, "Come, let's get going to the Rain Sanction. The others will follow when they finish off those other three mercenaries."

XXX

"Rasengan!" Fuu flew up. Kin shunshined away. Naruto didn't move away in time. Jiraiya struck him in the chest, his eyes swelled as the energy of a spiralling orb of death tore away at his flesh and grinded his bones. Naruto's body gave up on him as he fell back, detaching from the Rasengan. He managed to take two more steps back before Jiraiya jumped over him and dusted his hands. Naruto collapsed.

" _Shit! Shit! Shit, dattebayo! What the fuck did I just get hit with?"_ Naruto began to bleed out. The blonde tapped his chest. When his hand rose to eye-level it was drenched in deep red fluid, "Help," he whispered.

"NARUTO!" Kin screamed.

"Are you okay, ssu?" Fuu fluttered closer.

XXX

"Let me show you just how interesting it can get!" Tsunade leapt with a fiery fist ready to destroy whoever got in the way. Asuna and two of the Itachi clones managed to jump away in time. Sakura, stupidly, jump into one of the Itachi clones. Tsunade punched that same clone. It exploded.

Sakura hit the ground hard. Tsunade landed on her feet. Her injuries healed instantly.

"Check on Sakura," Itachi softly told Asuna as they hopped backwards.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Asuna slid back.

"Use your animals."

"I need to be staring at said animal to control them," she explained.

"Then keep the blonde occupied," Itachi told the younger woman.

"And how do I do that?"

The second Itachi clone went in for the attack first, "Follow him," Itachi said. As Asuna pursued the clone onto the battlefield, Itachi made a bee line for Sakura's bloodied figure. The Uchiha fell to his knees and pressed two fingers against her pencil-thin neck, "What do you do when your medic needs medical treatment?" the ponytailed mercenary asked himself as the beating in Sakura's neck slowed.

XXX

"I won't let you get away!" Sasuke punched a tree so hard it began to come down. Orochimaru rushed up the thick oak and slithered around it, before leaping onto the next tree's branch and vanishing into the foliage.

Tayuya sent sound waves out via her flute. Ino and Sasuke surrounded her as her hazel eyes darted from one side of the mossy damp forest to the other. Sasuke made the mistake of deactivating his Sharingan upon realising that Tayuya served as a functional enough pair of eyes.

"To your right! Sasuke!" Tayuya warned.

The Uchiha punched upon noticing the slithering creep. Oro noodled around Sasuke's arm, tackled him, leapt off the pale young adult and went straight for Ino. The blonde panicked, only to be saved by Tayuya jamming her flute into Orochimaru's neck. His momentum sent all three of them into the bushes.

"Are you okay, bimbo?" Tayuya asked sitting up.

"I'm o… bimbo?!" Ino yelled.

"Red! Watch out!" Sasuke called.

Tayuya turned.

"YOU FUCKING CUNT!" Tayuya tried to keep her calm as Orochimaru's teeth sunk into her neck. Her heart rate rose rapidly. The blood drained from her face. The young redhead's chakra levels depleted. She tried to punch the pale man but didn't have enough energy in her body to perform the task effectively, "Shit!" Orochimaru receded into the forest.

"Oh no you don't!" Sasuke took the receding as him trying to make an escape. The emo went for his signature Chidori and charged full-speed into the darkness. Orochimaru vomited before throwing something. Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan activated, so his movements were restricted to a straight line. A sword drilled through his chest, cancelling out his speed, and nailing him to a moist tree's bark.

" _Roshi acquired the target. Time to retreat,"_ Jiraiya spoke directly to Orochimaru using a mental link technique.

The Snake Sage walked up to Sasuke and grinned, "I really hope your redheaded friend over there survives my Curse Mark, she's an interesting specimen, and I would love to see how the female body handles such an increase in power," the older man grabbed the hilt of his sword, "You on the other hand, you've outlived your testing longevity-,"

"Nagashi!"

"What?"

The lightning reappeared around Sasuke's fingertips. Orochimaru hesitated. Sasuke grabbed the metal flute and sent a current through it. Orochimaru's muscles constricted as thousands of volts rocketed through his body, frying it. The Chidori Nagashi engulfed both of them, but Sasuke being the jutsu's creator, was immune to the deadly shock. Orochimaru yanked on the sword, dropping it, and Sasuke, to the floor. The snake choked, stumbled around a bit, then jumped into the bushes to vanish from the Uchiha's sight.

Sasuke placed his head on a large tree's roots before drifting off to sleep. Ino was tasked with carrying both mercenaries to the nearest Sanction. The Rain Sanction. Little did she know, on day two of what was supposed to be a month-long trip, things had already taken a turn for the worst.

XXX

 **Chapter Four down and the nuisance that is Team Sannin continues to make Naruto's adventures in the Wastelands, a living hell. Chapter Five is already in the works. Feel free to favourite it, follow it and review it. Any information or criticism from your side is welcome. If you have any advice that you feel will make this story any better, then tell me via reviews or PMs. See you around.**


	5. Could It Please Rain Forever

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** The only answer I can give to your suspicions is that not every interaction between a guy and girl is necessarily romantic, Tayuya will have some competition for sure, but that doesn't mean she won't snap at just about every girl who tries to even start a conversation with Naruto.

 **Guest (Ch3):** Some people just have a harder time letting go of the idea of other people, maybe Tayuya's just one of those people.

 **Guest (Ch4):** To answer your main question, the moves that Naruto has in his arsenal are moves that he has learned from either scrolls or from being taught, and with the scarceness of both resources in the Wastelands, currently, his go-to move and his strongest move is the Shadow Clone Jutsu, with Sasuke on the other hand, he comes from a jutsu-rich clan and all he has to do is look at a jutsu and he can copy it. The second question can be answered with, in canon, Naruto and Sasuke grew up in the same village and under the same teacher which Naruto to watch and level up to Sasuke's level, but in the fic, Sasuke is miles ahead of Naruto because he was trained by his clan whilst Naruto learnt what he learnt from scraping out in the Wastelands. So, this scenario would be more similar to when they were younger and would spar, Sasuke outmuscled Naruto simply because he was a prodigy and Naruto wasn't that smart. I'm not trying to nerf Naruto, the differences in backgrounds has given Sasuke a major advantage at the start of their journey, probably making him, besides Itachi, the strongest member of the group, but that doesn't mean Naruto won't eventually catch up to him. **TL:DR –** 1) Sasuke can copy techniques, Naruto has to hustle to learn jutsu. 2) Thanks to having a clan, Sasuke has more battle smarts than Naruto. 3) Sasuke is really strong, but that doesn't mean Naruto doesn't have room to improve.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Five: Could It Please Rain Forever**

XXX

 _October, 12._

The Rain Sanction was a kilometre from the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire. There was a universal rule that stated no killing, and, in extreme areas, no fighting was allowed within the walls of a Sanction. No Sanction upheld that rule more strictly than the Rain Sanction. If you were not a Rain Sanction-born citizen you'd have to hand your weapons in at the gates and sign an agreement stating you would give up your right to life upon breaking one of the Sanction's rules.

Although, once you got inside, you could see what they were trying to protect. The Rain Sanction was small, but it was a mixture of tall industrialised skyscrapers near the centre of the Sanction, surrounded by low-lying small homes that levelled out as the Sanction kissed the edge of a lake that formed a moat between the actual city and the gate surrounding it. The air was cold to the touch, and if the rentable homes didn't come with two thick blankets for each person, there was a high chance Hanabi would have died of hypothermia.

The little princess awoke on, what had to be, the twentieth or thirtieth floor of one of the Rain Sanction's many skyscrapers. She was lying on the cold floor being kept warm by not one, not two, but three woollen blankets. One under her, and two wrapped around her, to create a Hyuuga burrito. The white-eyed beauty looked up to see Hoshiko sitting, cross-legged, on the fourth blanket in front of the large window, staring out at the rain.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Huh?" Hoshiko jumped.

"I mean, you wrapped me in three blankets and I still feel a little chilly, are you okay?"

Hoshiko continued to stare out into the rain, "I was born and raised in the Land of Snow, I'm a lot more accustomed to the cold than you'd think," he said, "and the reason you might be cold is because I had to remove your clothes to dry them. I doubt you'd still want to wear it though," he pointed to her royal dress, drenched in dried mud.

Hanabi moved her arms around under the blankets wrapped around her to feel that she was only donning the bandages she'd wrapped around her breasts and hips, "That makes me feel uncomfortable."

"What?"

"The fact that you saw me naked," Hanabi explained.

"I was saving your life, this place isn't as warm and sunny as the Land of Fire, plus, I didn't see you naked, you were wearing bandages."

"Still! Even the royal servants aren't allowed to see the Hyuuga heiress without her ceremonial garbs. What you did is equivalent to treason in the Central Sanction."

"What? Three days ago, you were the first to yell about how you wanted to get drunk and do all those crazy things, and now you're uncomfortable because I saw your half-naked body?" Hoshiko turned away from his window.

"… Well, this is coming from the guy who's trying to be all cool and calm now, but was yelling at the top of his lungs about how he was going to be a good leader. Where's your team if you're such a good leader, huh?" Hanabi slipped her upper torso out of the warm blankets and exposed her pale skin to the cold.

Hoshiko's eyes glanced down at the princess's exposed shoulders for a second before reverting to Hanabi's eyes. This glance was enough for Hanabi to slip back behind her burrito for social safety. Hoshiko cleared his throat, "Why should it matter to you if I'm cool and calm, can't leaders be cool and calm, and loud and confident, and have everything under control at the same time?"

"You sound like a mess right now?"

"I'm not going to take all of this from a child."

"I'm probably one year younger than you!"

"Then why are you so immature?!"

The room was silent. Hoshiko breathed. Hanabi's breathing was a little off-sync. The speedster sighed before standing up. His white and blue one-piece attire was waterproof, so it had already soaked up most of the moisture from the surrounding humid air.

"I'm gonna go down to get us something to eat, maybe ramen or something."

"Where's my sister?" Hanabi asked.

"She's with the others," Hoshiko made his way to the door.

Hanabi reached out and grabbed his ankle as he walked past. He paused to look down, "W-wait, I want to come with you."

"The last thing I need is someone spotting you. Might I remind you, you're the most expensive person in the Wastelands?" Hoshiko opened the door.

"Wait," Hanabi whined. Hoshiko looked back. An origami aeroplane glided into the room. The mysterious item went unnoticed as it disappeared behind the closet without making a noise, " _Might I remind you_ that the last time you took your eyes off me I almost got killed?" the princess raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you're naked."

Upon hearing those words, Hanabi darted across the room to grab Hoshiko's backpack and pull out one of Asuna's dresses, "I don't have to be," she said.

"How did you know that that was in there?"

"Lucky guess."

"… Well put it on and let's go."

XXX

An immature blonde regained consciousness as his heavy eyelids finally separated, flashing him with memories of what he thought would be his own death. The whiskered young adult felt his chest for blood, only to touch solid skin wrapped heavily in bandages _, "How?"_ he questioned mentally before scanning the room for more information. He was in a Sanction-Wasteland Hospital. Sanction-Wasteland Hospitals or SWHs were built into every Sanction, and saved thousands of lives every year. They were state-funded institutions that healed people who were specifically injured whilst out on the Wastelands. Due to the severity of most Wasteland injuries, only the best medics were assigned to SWHs, but that also meant they cost twice as much as regular medical facilities.

"You're alive? How tragic," Sasuke scoffed. The older man was shirtless with large bandages wrapped around his chest, especially his right side, and a few more around his left arm and hand. Other than that, he seemed perfectly healthy.

"Fuck you dattebayo," Naruto cursed. Sakura introduced herself by lifting her upper body and scolding Naruto for insulting Sasuke. Sakura's injuries were a little more severe than Sasuke's. She had bandages wrapped around her large forehead, flat chest, toned stomach and right knee, "He started it!" the blonde grumbled.

"Well I'm ending it!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto looked to his left in search of any more beds and injured parties, "Were we the only three hurt by those creeps?" he asked.

"The only _two_ ," Sasuke adjusted his body to sit up, but a set of restraints held his wrists and ankles down, "I… am perfectly… healthy!" he tried to fight his way out of the restraints, but chakra glowed through them as he tried to fight.

"What happened to the other… nine then?" Naruto had to do some quick head math.

"Sasuke-kun, stop fighting, you'll alert the medics again," Sakura ignored his question. Sasuke shook his bed a little.

"Chidori Nagashi!" he growled, creating a surge of lightning around him. The force of the jutsu knocked Naruto off his bed.

"AHHH!"

"Shut up, Naruto! You're gonna-," Sakura was interrupted by three men in white one-piece suits barging through the door.

"He's acting up again!" the man in the middle went straight for Sasuke. The Uchiha activated his Sharingan as a warning. The medic didn't slow down, "Don't be afraid of his eyes, his hands are restrained."

"You obviously don't understand the basics of dojutsu!" Sasuke growled.

The largest member of the medical staff leapt across the room to jump on Naruto, "ITAI! What did I do?!"

Sasuke shunshined. The head medic gasped. The red-eyed mercenary kicked the man into a wall. He grabbed the second man before he could turn tail to run, spun him around and slammed him into the floor. Sasuke dashed. The large man looked up.

"Crap!"

Itachi caught Sasuke's foot mid-air.

"It's a good thing you haven't signed the waiver yet," the older Uchiha said.

"What waiver? Where are we, brother?"

"The Rain Sanction," Itachi informed his younger brother… knowing the laws of Sanctions, even the rowdiest member of the group leapt back and landed without making another sound. Naruto brushed himself off as he tried to stand, "I'm surprised you're alive."

"That's what I said," Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan.

"What do you mean?" Naruto ignored the younger Uchiha.

"That technique you took to the chest. It literally tore through your chest. It broke ribs and destroyed your lungs… the doctors said your lungs pieced themselves together. You should've died, and yet, you're here."

Naruto flashed the man a foxy grin before commenting, "There's still a lot I have to do before I bite the big one, dattebayo."

" _ **Fucking thank me!"**_ Naruto continued to ignore the voices in his head.

"Where are the other members of the group?" Sakura asked. Naruto side-eyed the pink-haired woman for snubbing him when he'd asked the same question earlier.

"They're searching for Hinata," Itachi shocked the trio, "The Itachi you're talking to at the moment is just a clone. Ino, Asuna, Fuu and I are all furiously searching the Sanction for the princess."

"What about Kin and Tayu-chan?" Naruto asked.

"And Hoshiko and Hanabi-hime?" Sakura jumped out of bed.

"Tayuya was bitten in combat. We were waiting for Sakura to recover so she could heal her, like she did Sasuke. Kin and another one of my clones are watching over her to make sure she doesn't go critical. We lost Hoshiko and Hanabi, they entered the Sanction before us, but they could both probably take care of themselves, so no need to worry about them at the moment."

"I want to talk to Tayuya," Naruto began walking towards the door.

Itachi grabbed his head, "The hospital says they need another day to make sure your vitals, and all that, remain stable. You'll have to talk to her tomorrow."

"But-,"

"There's nothing you can do, usuratonkachi!"

"Were you just born an asshole or did you have to work for it, Sasuke-teme?"

"All this coming from a clanless loser whose only jutsu makes a fake clanless for his useless ass," Sasuke's nose touched Naruto's.

"No, no, no, no fighting while you're in the hospital, hospitals are for bonding time, and considering how you're both covered in bandages because of your inability to work together, so you need bonding time," Itachi said. Sasuke's Curse Mark lit up, "Reminder! If you punch me, I will blow up," Itachi calmed the emo down.

"… I need some rest," the young adult jumped into bed.

Naruto fell back onto his bed to contemplate. They were only three days in, and things had already gone downhill. How did it get so bad so quickly?

XXX

In the darkest room, in the tallest building in the Rain Sanction, several origami aeroplanes collided into each other to form a feminine figure. The silhouette stopped forming after a head and torso were visible. The blue-haired woman opened her piercing orange eyes to stare into the void.

"It's confirmed, Lord Pain. One of the Hyuuga Princesses are in the Sanction, and she's only being escorted by one mercenary from the Land of Snow."

A slightly older man with long silver hair and a purple pair of Samsara Eyes emerged from the darkness in pitch-black robes, "How… insulting… the most precious item in the world, and they bring her to my doorstep being guarded by only one fool?"

A hand gripped the pale man's cold shoulder. An orange-haired man sauntered out and smiled, "No need to stress yourself over something like this, Na… I mean, Lord Pain. Lady Angel, get… Sasori and Deidara to bring the fools here… quickly," the spiky-haired man with brown eyes commanded.

"No problem, Lord Lucifer," the woman nodded as she disappeared, returning to her paper aeroplane state, "They'll be here by tomorrow," she said as her voice faded. The silver-haired man re-entered the darkness, leaving the orange-haired man to sigh.

"Why do I have to be the peacemaker these days?"

XXX

A beautiful add-on to some of the Rain Sanction's best hotels was a circular dining area, surrounded by four-foot-tall sheets of curved glass. It gave Hoshiko and Hanabi a 360-degree view of the surrounding area, as they slowly consumed their meals. The duo had chosen to order their favourite dishes. Hanabi, some bananas with milk as a drink, and Hoshiko, natto drenched in soy sauce, mustard and onions.

"So, how did you get your name?" Hanabi asked, dipping her banana in the thick cow's milk. Hoshiko shoved his chopsticks into his mouth. He raised an eyebrow as he chowed, "Don't get me wrong, it's a nice name… I just never knew it could be a male name."

Hoshiko finished chewing to answer, "My parents were very liberal when it came to names… they didn't really care about gender, if a name sounded beautiful… they just went with it," he looked down.

"I guess the same could be said for me," Hanabi giggled.

"Oh no, your name suits you perfectly. You're just a little ball of fireworks."

"Little? I'm only a year younger than you!" she snapped.

"Whoa," Hoshiko's head rose, "I said nothing about age," he tried to calm the Hyuuga Princess down. One or two of the citizens sitting at adjacent tables shot the pair a glance.

"Sorry, I've just been seen as a kid for so long that it just gets to me," Hanabi ran her hands through her hair. The younger woman pushed her dress's long sleeves up to her elbows before breaking off another piece of banana to dip into her milk. Hoshiko grabbed her hand mid-dip. Hanabi traced his arm up to his brown eyes, "What?"

"You don't want to be called a child? Dipping bananas in milk doesn't help your situation," Hoshiko said.

"So? Why does it matter to you?" she became defensive.

"Do you want me to help you or not?"

There was a brief pause in which Hanabi tried to consider whether she needed Hoshiko's assistance or not, "I'm listening," she forced another piece of milk-covered banana between her teeth, "After this last piece."

"First of all, I'll start you off with what you seem to have been craving throughout this whole trip," Hoshiko raised his hand to summon a waiter.

"What's that?" Hanabi's brow furrowed.

As the older man approached the table, Hoshiko just said, "Your best vodka please."

"That would be 30 Ryo a bottle," the man said scanning his list of alcoholic beverages.

"Perfect," Hoshiko ushered the man away.

"You're gonna get me drunk?" Hanabi said excitedly, vibrating slightly in her seat.

"Don't say it like that," Hoshiko groaned.

"You don't understand, after being trapped in the Hyuuga Compound and being told what and what not to do for so long, seeing how drunk people seemed to have no care or responsibility in the world made me aspire to be drunk one day."

"You need some role models," Hoshiko scratched the back of his curly brown hair.

The statement came at the worst time, because as he said it, the waiter placed the glass bottle in the centre of the table, and left a pair of glasses on either side of the gorgeous clear liquid. The vodka was so cold, its container appeared to sweat as it stood ominously between the duo. Hanabi dragged the bottle to her side before grabbing a glass.

"Okay, just remember we're not drinking to drun-," the speedster shut up when Hanabi filled her glass with vodka and took a swig. She grasped Hoshiko's hand and squeezed as the burning sensation wringed her neck violently. The Hyuuga slapped the table and let out a muffled scream, before taking another gulp and breathing heavily. Hoshiko watched on with a concerned face and sprained wrist.

"Maybe we should-,"

"No!"

"Okay," Hoshiko sat back on his chair.

XXX

"Good luck, and remember the advice I gave you," Kisame said, placing his hand on Deidara's shoulder. Hiruko slid onto Deidara's giant clay dragon. Kisame backed up and stood next to Shinji.

"Where are they going?" the rookie asked as Deidara hopped onto the white reptile.

"Hopefully, to go make us some money," Kakuzu exclaimed.

The beast took off, kicking up sand as it flew in the direction of the Rain Sanction.

Hidan growled, "Why the fuck do they get all the good assignments? I mean, I would have loved to be the motherfucker who slayed a Hyuuga Princess."

"You realise comments like that are the reasons why we don't go on capture the target missions right?" Kakuzu grunted.

"How the fuck was a supposed to know it was a capture the target mission?" Hidan folded his arms.

"Now imagine if you asked that question after slaughtering the most valuable person in the Wastelands," Neji commented.

"Shut your ass!" Hidan reached for scythe, "FUCK YOU!" he aimed his middle finger at Kakuzu, who'd already stolen his triple-bladed weapon.

"We need to keep moving, you bums!" the child-like Kanemaru yelled. The group decided to carry on moving in search of a new base of operations, after Deidara destroyed their temporary base using his personal favourite 'bomb-down-the-throat' technique.

"Don't screw this mission up," Hiruko commented.

Deidara sighed as they soared through the desert air, robes flapping in the wind. The blonde thought about Kisame's words of motivation and used them to reply, "I promise not to let you down, Hiruko-sensei."

"Hiruko-sensei? What the fuck?"

XXX

Two figures in black coats sauntered into one of the Rain Sanction's many bars. They sat adjacent to one another and waited for the bartender to notice them. The bearded man slid in and stood over the duo.

"What can I get you two?"

The first figure dropped her hood to reveal tanned skin, green hair and orange eyes, "Someone told me bars are some of the best places in the Rain Sanction to find information," she smirked. The man's eyes darted from the familiar woman's bright face to the esoteric red-eyed man sitting next to her.

"An Uch-."

"Shush, Tai-san, we need your help in finding two people," Fuu placed her index finger over her mouth as she spoke. There was no point in silencing the man really, the bar was so busy that everyone was preoccupied their own business.

"Why did you bring him along?" the man questioned.

"Because, the second man is more important to me, than he is to her."

"Well, if I don't find your target do you promise not to smash up my bar this time?" Tai pulled out his notepad and turned to Fuu. The Jinchuuriki started off with a nod, but as the man bent over to grab a pen she switched to shaking her head vigorously, "Who are you looking for? I'll see if I can find them in the… database."

"An old guy with long spiky white hair, has something to do with toads… I believe they called him Jiraiya," Fuu began. After a bit of hesitation, the man's pen moved fluidly across the paper. Whilst he was writing he tried to recall whether anyone of that nature had stumbled into his little bar, "He has these two red lines on his face. They start from his eyes and, like, go down, ssu."

"Are you just wasting my time again, Fuu-chan?" the man deadpanned.

"Of course not," the Jinchuuriki chuckled, "It's not my fault he seems like such a wacky character, ssu," Fuu shrugged.

Tai finished writing down his notes, "Is that all?"

"I guess. He's pretty average in height and has the classic mercenary body type… would you be able to find him?"

"As I said, I'll have to search through the database," Tai flipped the notebook over to the next page, "What about the second person?"

Itachi lowered his hood, "He needs no descriptions. I just need you to direct me to Shisui Uchiha's hideout."

Tai gulped, "Shisui… Uchiha?" he dropped his pen into his apron and leaned against the counter, before looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, "Why on earth would a sane man be searching for Shisui Uchiha?"

"I have my reasons."

"So, you know where this guy is then?" Fuu asked.

"I'll… I'll have to do some digging around, but I'm not making any promises."

"Okay then, let us leave," Itachi pushed his chair back as he rose.

"Wait, I made a contract specifically for this situation," Tai shuffled through the papers under his counter.

Itachi just lifted his hoodie and continued to walk. Fuu flashed a peace sign before turning around and saying, "Your business seems to be doing well enough as it is."

"That's not… what I meant," Tai sighed, "Where the hell will I find a man with white hair in the Land of Rain?"

XXX

Hoshiko quietly made his way down the corridor. He slotted the key into its keyhole before lifting his head and thinking _, "Ah damn, I'm forgetting something aren't I?"_ he unlocked the door and took a step back. He placed his finger on his chin _, "And it was something important too?"_

"Hoshikoooo!" quick reflexes, and constant wind chakra manipulation, allowed him to catch Hanabi before she could hit the floor. The first-time drinker had tried to give the man a warm hug, but had missed him by a country mile.

"Oh, hey there," the curly-haired speedster helped the Hyuuga woman saunter into their ice-cold wooden apartment room. She decided to drop herself on the bed of blankets, so Hoshiko left her there and walked into the kitchen to place the leftovers in their refrigerator.

"Hoshikooo! I had a great time todayyy," the princess laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I can tell," the speedster yelled from the kitchen. Hanabi rolled off the bed with a thud, spooking Hoshiko. He reappeared under the doorframe to see the woman forcing herself to her feet, "Maybe you should continue to have a great time on the bed," he rushed over to her side.

"Nooo," Hanabi argued as she grabbed Hoshiko's arm and pulled him onto the bed.

"Oh no," he groaned as her arms locked around his own, "Hanabi-hime…"

"Huh?" her eyes were closed.

"You're drunk… and you need to sleep."

"You're drunk too," she argued.

"Yeah, but I had six glasses… you had eleven… on your first time," Hoshiko tried to reason with a woman who was on the verge of unconsciousness. The princess went dead quiet for a solid thirty seconds, before bursting into tears, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, why are you crying?"

"I don't knowwww," she sniffled, "When this is all over, you're going to continue running around the world being free and everything… I'm going to return to my compound where… where… where I'll be trapped for the rest of my life, and you're going to continue running around the world being free and everything."

Hoshiko laughed, "I'm not a mercenary like the Uchiha Brothers or Naruto," he pointed out, "When this is all over, I'm gonna be just as trapped as you are. I'll have to return to my Facility with Asuna, and I won't see a single Ryo of the prize money your family's giving us."

"Really?" she wiped her tears with one of her hands, "When will they let you out of your Facility?"

Hoshiko's laughing resumed, "Facilities are places where people with special techniques and Kekkei Genkai are trapped forever, only let out for important tasks… I'm probably going to die there," he tried to make a joke out of it, but Hanabi stared at him. When Hoshiko looked left, his face was way too close to Hanabi's, but she didn't let him move back.

"Then we should run awayyy."

" _We_?"

"Yeah, just you and me. You can be my samurai in shining armour, and I can be your damsel-in-distress," Hanabi sounded so amazed at that idea, but Hoshiko just dropped his head onto his pillow and looked up.

"You probably won't remember any of this when you're sobered up so… sure, I'll run away with you, Hanabi-hime," the speedster tried to stand, but the vice grip around his arm held tight.

"Sleep with me… just this once," she whispered.

Hoshiko rolled his eyes, "Anything for you, Hanabi-hime," he said, removing his fingerless gloves, shin pads, goggles and sandals.

"Hey, Hoshiko."

"Yeah?"

"Let'sss play 21 questions."

"Twenty-what?"

"I ask you a question, you answer it, and you ask me a question, then I answer it, we each get twenty-one chances to ask," Hanabi explained.

Hoshiko raised an eyebrow as the room descended into darkness, dropping the temperature from cold to even colder, "Oh, I've played that before, but I just call it a conversation."

She laughed way too hard at that comment, to the point where she started snorting. Hoshiko giggled a little, before continuing to stare at wooden ceiling above him, "Okay, I'll go first… Why do you wear goggles?" Hanabi whispered.

Hoshiko dropped his goggles on one side of the bed, before turning to the younger woman, "The Facility gave them to me to stop my eyes from drying out when I run. It was a more prominent problem when I was younger, but I keep them in case I get into a fight that requires more speed than my usual super speed," he said, leaving the room in silence, "… How does it feel to use the Byakugan?"

"Huh?"

"The Byakugan, what exactly do you see when you activate it?"

"Chakra points… a whole lot of chakra points," she muttered.

"I get that, but-,"

"If you could be a part of any clan in the world… what clan would it be?" Hanabi interrupted him.

"My own clan, I would do anything to stand by my clansmen again," he sighed.

"Where are they?"

"Up in the Land of Snow. They sold me off when I was seven to the Land of Fire's Facility," said Hoshiko.

"Why?"

"The Facility told me that they'd seen my incredible wind manipulation abilities whilst I was young, and knew there was no way they'd be able to protect me from clans that were bound to flock in in an attempt to kill me… so they sold me," he explained, "What about you? What clan would you like to be a part of?"

"… Senju."

"How come?"

"Byakugan… Sharingan… we become such easy targets because all you'd have to do is knock us out and rip our eyes out to leave us powerless; whereas Senju Clan members, their power comes from here," she pressed her hand against her breast, "My boobs?" she asked herself.

"What?" Hoshiko tilted his head.

"I have tiny boobs," she squeezed them.

Hoshiko looked up, "Where is this conversation going?"

"I'm just saying, I wish I had… I wish I had… I wish," as Hoshiko looked down, Hanabi just exploded into tears… again. The curly-haired man adjusted his position to place his free right hand on Hanabi's left cheek. The woman opened her eyes to reveal glossy lavender eyes.

"Hanabi-hime?"

"I'm so fucking insecure," Hanabi shouted, Hoshiko covered her mouth to silence her. When he lifted his hand, she said, "But don't tell Hanabi, she's supposed to stay strong."

"I think you need some sleep," Hoshiko murmured.

Hanabi placed her head on his chest and leaked salty tears onto his skin-tight white shirt. The speedster just stared at her, "Even if I fell asleep for a hundred days, I think I'd still be tired when I woke up, you know. It's that type of tiredness that doesn't need physical sleep, it just needs some psychological or emotional shit… and I think alcohol is that emotional medicine, Hoshiko."

The quick-thinking test subject punched Hanabi in the back of the head, knocking her out, "As much as you don't like being called one, on the inside you are just a kid… but aren't we all. Sometimes we need to be," Hoshiko told an unconscious Hyuuga. He looked up at the ceiling and listened to the rain tap the curved glass impatiently, "Why is it always raining here?" he asked himself as he yawned and drifted off to sleep.

XXX

In dark chambers, in an unknown location, a humanoid creature soaked in darkness sauntered over to a cave locked behind a rusted metal gate. Using nothing but raw force, the creature ripped the gate apart and gazed into the abyss.

" **Within the confines of the Rain Sanction hides a trio consisting of, the humans, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Before they can interfere with the plans, I'd laid out prior to Kaguya-sama's meddling, I need you, in your weakened state, to kill each and every last one of them. Remind the world of my presence."**

As the voice bellowed, nightmarish entities raced past it, at break-neck speeds, on all fours. The bipedal creature turned and chuckled as the hellish demons vanished behind a blanket of light.

XXX

 **I was already working on this chapter when I uploaded Chapter Four, so expect a couple of days to pass before I upload the next chapter. A basic summary of this chapter? It focused mainly on Hanabi and Hoshiko, with quite a few characters being shoved in your face at once, expect quite a few of these one-on-one moments as I believe it allows me to flesh out the character a bit more. I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction, and if you have any questions, leave a review or send me a personal message to ask for clarity. See you when I see you.**


	6. A Broken Team vs The Ultimate Pair

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** Thank you, it's good to see that you're continually reading every chapter and enjoying it enough to review and sharing your insight so I know whether I'm on the right track or not, it means a lot.

 **Guest (Ch5):** That's great to hear, I hope you'll continue to read and I'll make sure I continue to pump out material that you'll enjoy reading.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Six: A Broken Team vs The Ultimate Pair**

XXX

 _October, 13._

A huge pair of bright red eyes opened as a cold and damp pipe room slowly transformed into a warmer well-lit chamber with a six-tomoed circle in the centre, surrounded by tall wooden torches. The massive nine-tailed beast reared before scanning the room. There were three other figures in the room, breathing the same warm air the fox was. The beast grunted before lowering its head and closing its eyes.

" **Why the fuck did you summon me here?"**

" **Still going for that strong and silent aesthetic, huh Kurama?"** the crouched rhinoceros bug questioned. The fox's ear twitched.

" **We actually summoned you on Choumei's request, he said it was about time he met you after so long,"** the five-tailed horse-whale, who was the only feminine being in the room, explained.

" **Might I remind you, you're the reason I don't host any psyche meetings, right?"** the fox said.

" **Shukaku isn't here, Kurama, there's no reason to be a dick,"** the turtle opposite the fox exclaimed.

" **Did you summon me just to insult me?"** the fox's eyes remained closed.

" **No,"** the jumpy bug began fluttering its wings to fly **, "It's about you and your Jinchuuriki. I noticed when we went up against the man with the white hair, that he hesitated to use you and you hesitated to be used."**

" **Your point being?"**

" **My point is, I'm on my second Jinchuuriki, Isobu is on his second Jinchuuriki, Kokuo is on her third Jinchuuriki, and here you are on your seventeenth, and it's only been like fifty years, bro."**

" **What can I say, humans are pathetic."**

" **You need to start protecting your Jinchuuriki, Kurama,"** Isobu budged in **, "Might I remind you that Hagoromo-Otou-san told us that-,"**

" **FUCK THE SAGE OF SIX PATHS!"**

Kurama silenced the room. The torches blew out as the thin layer of water on the floor was carried away by the rush of chakra. Choumei fell to earth. Isobu quietened down. Kokuo fell into a seated position. Kurama established dominance by standing.

" **What the Old Man saw us as and what these humans see us as are two different constructs! We were created from the chakra of the most destructive beast on earth, but we were destined to be the guardians of this new world. We were each given a sanctum, a plain of existence on which we can communicate, and infinite reserves of chakra. That man introduced us and the world to Ninjutsu and wanted it and us to be used to maintain peace and balance in this world! Look at it now! How did your previous Jinchuuriki die, huh? ANSWER ME! Because all of mine died fighting this never-ending battle. You want to know why I never protect my Jinchuuriki? Because the humans plucked us from our sanctums, destroyed those same sanctums and stuffed us into these puny bodies so we perform the same deed that the Sage brought us into this world to stop. FIGHT!"** Kurama looked around at the silenced Tailed Beasts **, "NOW THEN… if no one else has anything to say, I must return to my mindscape."**

" **His army is coming… he won't be too far behind,"** Kokuo said.

Kurama paused.

" **With Hagoromo-sama dead, and Hamura-sensei gone from the material world, there's no one that can stop him except us, and you're the strongest amongst us… we have to get along with our Jinchuuriki… we can't let Hagoromo-sama die in vain,"** the white beast explained.

" **The kid already knows my name… what more do you want from me?"**

" **I haven't seen the guy use any Ninjutsu other than that duplication technique,"** Choumei said.

" **Is it my fault? He's the one who chooses to be ignorant and believe he can save the day using only one jutsu?"**

" **Teach him something,"** Isobu pleaded **, "You're the only one who knows how to safely swallow your Tailed Beast Bombs and fire them as a beam."**

Kurama burst out laughing, taking that comment as a joke, only to realise Isobu wasn't laughing along **, "You want a kid as stupid as that firing Tailed Beast Bomb Beams all over the place? No fucking way!"**

" **We don't want you to turn him into some sort of legendary mercenary. Just teach him something so you can be alive when he finally decides to come out of hiding,"** Isobu said.

Kurama rolled his eyes as the world began to shatter **, "Fuck you,"** he swore as the world went full white.

XXX

" _You know if you never tell him your feelings, one day he'll be stolen by another woman," Kin said in a sassy tone. The duo was standing a couple of metres away from a cliff, the only person standing closer to the cliff was Naruto, who was standing, hands on hips, on the cliff's edge._

" _Fuck you, I like you better when you're shy," Tayuya cussed._

" _I'm only shy when Naruto's around," Kin smirked before dropping her head, "You wanna know why?"_

" _Why?"_

" _Because I love him too, and since you refuse to show your feelings to him, and continue to beat him, I'm going to express my feelings for him by fucking him."_

" _You wouldn't," when Tayuya turned to Kin, she was already gone, "NO!"_

 _The three-tailed Jinchuuriki was drilling her tongue into the blonde's mouth when the redhead turned back, "Mmm, Naru-chan, your lips are so soft," Kin moaned. Naruto's hands ran up her waist, before lifting her shirt over her head. Kin dropped Naruto's pants and grabbed a handful of his manhood._

" _I'll fucking end you!"_

" _But how can you be jealous of something that's not yours?" Kin's eyes went blood red. Tayuya charged, only for someone to grab her elbow as she rushed past, "Huh?"_

" _Birthday Girl?"_

" _Daimaru-kun?" Tayuya's eyes lit up._

" _The war is over, I've been reanimated by Kaguya's chakra. We can finally get married like we promised to all those years ago," he smirked._

" _I-I'd love to… but," Tayuya looked back at Naruto, who was now standing alone. The blue-eyed blonde looked over his shoulder at the redhead. He was wearing a suave black tuxedo. As he turned and marched closer, Kin, Asuna, Ino, Fuu, Sakura, Hinata and Hanabi appeared wearing extravagant blue dresses. Sasuke, Itachi, and Hoshiko magically appeared too, wearing light grey suits. The Jinchuuriki finally came to a stop at the end of a long white carpet._

" _What are you waiting for, Tayu-chan?"_ _Naruto asked as he held his hand out. Tayuya looked down to see herself dressed in a beautiful frilly mermaid-style wedding dress._

" _This can't really be fucking happening," Tayuya's eyes began watering._

" _The war is over, Tayu-chan… we can finally live together in a beach house on the Southern side of the Land of Fire. We'll have those five children you've been hinting me for and we'll go on marvellous adventures together, just you and me."_

 _Tayuya took a step forward._

" _Hey, what are you doing with my woman?" Daimaru stabbed Naruto in the stomach with Tayuya's flute. The flute transformed into Orochimaru, who stretched his neck out to bite both Naruto and Daimaru. Sasuke's eyes went red._

" _CHIDORI!" he made a beeline for Tayuya._

" _NO!"_

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Tayuya, you're safe, girl," Kin pressed her hand against Tayuya' chest before caressing her hair and trying to calm her down. The sweaty redhead was lying on some sort of seal, in just a set of bandage underwear, surrounded by Kin and Itachi.

"Where am I? Where's the pale motherfucker? Where's Daimaru?"

"Don't move too much, you leave that circle and the bite mark will overpower you," Itachi warned.

"Dai-who?" Kin raised an eyebrow.

"I said Naruto, where's Naruto?"

"He took a heavy hit to the chest, last time I checked he was in critical condition," Kin said.

"WHAT? WHERE?!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Itachi placed his hand on Tayuya's forehead and dropped it onto the pillow, "Naruto's recovered extremely quickly from his injuries. He's stable and he's kicking… you have nothing to worry about. The three that attacked us are currently out somewhere in the city; Asuna, Ino, Fuu and the real me are out there searching for them, the second we find them we'll notify the rest of you."

"What about Hinata and Hanabi?" Tayuya asked.

"Hinata was stolen by our assailants, Hanabi was rescued by Hoshiko, I'm sure they'll join us when the time calls for them to join."

"Now get some rest, Tayu-chan, you don't want to be tired for when you reunite with Naruto," Kin giggled.

Tayuya mumbled, "And have you steal him again? Hell no."

"What?"

"I'll get some rest, thank you," Tayuya smiled.

XXX

"Ngh… Hoshiko?" Hanabi moaned as she lifted her head and exhaled heavily. She was alone in her bed, wrapped in blankets. The Hyuuga Princess looked up and smirked.

"Hungover?" the speedster stood in front of his window sipping on green tea. He looked back and smiled.

"No… just tired, surprisingly," Hanabi groggily got to her feet, and exhaled again before taking a few steps forward off the mattress onto the ice-cold wooden floor, "I think I'll need some tea too, Hoshiko."

"There's a boiled teapot in the kitchen," Hoshiko pointed at the little clay appliance sitting on the counter, "and aren't you gonna put some shoes on?"

"Nope, the cold feels good between my toes," she said wiggling the little digits, "by the way, do you have any intention on having us look for the others or are you simply going to take me to the Land of Lightning and hope they catch up?"

"Honestly, that second plan sounds so much easier, but I'll wait for a few more days and see if the other guys pop up anywhere," Hoshiko muttered.

"I mean, it wouldn't be so bad to leave them behind, after all, you did promise to run away with me."

"You remember that?"

"Yep," she giggled, "I remember everything I did whilst drunk, I know that I was an emotional mess, but at least I was a confident emotional mess, you know?"

"Well then, I'm guessing since you're not as much of a mess," Hoshiko took a sip, "You won't be so eager to do something as stupid as run away."

"It's not stupid, that's freedom."

"Where would you… we go exactly? The Wastelands are a killing field, and there's no Sanction that the Hyuuga Clan would hesitate to destroy in order to get you back."

"No clan would mess with the Land of Eddies," Hanabi said with a straight face, "It would only take a month to cross the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, but after that, we'd be in the Land of Eddies, the safest land in the world."

"You've… put too much thought into this," Hoshiko said as the princess finished filling up her cup.

"You know the feeling, of being trapped in one place for most of your life, knowing that there's no way to escape your fate unless you grab it by your own hands and force yourself to travel down a different road."

"…"

"Ever since I was twelve, I've been planning and thinking it through. There are only three ways you can escape the Hyuuga Clan's clutch as a Main Family Member, Hoshiko. Either you die and are liberated from this painful cycle; you get married off and join another clan officially which Hinata had opted for, but since I'm the heiress, that's out of my reach; or you disappear and vanish from the Hyuuga Clan's radar."

"Hanabi-hime…"

"I don't want to be the most valuable person in the Mercenary World anymore, Hoshiko. I want to be just a normal woman living on the shores of the Land of Eddies, and if you don't understand how don't try because it would take you years and I mean _years_ … to understand the amount of planning I've put into this plan. All I need is someone strong enough to fight off any Hyuuga Clan Member that tries to stop us, whether that's a mercenary or a friend, like you."

"… Why me?"

"Honestly… and if I'm being dead honest, I'm just basing it off of the personalities I've seen so far from my male escorts. Itachi and Sasuke are both high-end targets, it'd be impossible for anyone to miss an Uchiha. Naruto seems like he'd also draw too much attention with his loud orange jumpsuit and crazy personality… and even if you put those two aspects aside, I doubt he'd match up against a member of the Hyuuga Clan with only one Ninjutsu technique."

"You realise I'm also a one-trick pony, right?" Hoshiko took another sip, "I just run into people at extremely high speeds and they usually end up on the floor," he admitted.

"Yeah, but I'd take superspeed over clone jutsu any day," Hanabi said.

"Why does it have to be a guy?" Hoshiko placed his teacup on the windowsill before folding his arms and breathing a little heavily, "I mean… Tayuya looks like she would kick my ass any day of the week."

"I get along more with guys, onee-san always told me I was supposed to be born a boy, there's just a lot less drama involved with guys, you know?"

"Actually, other than the women I've met on this journey, the only girl I've ever talked to is Asuna. She's always been my only friend, so no, I don't know about female-based drama," Hoshiko shrugged.

"Well, women from Central Sanction always seem to have something going on in their lives, so I'd rather live the rest of my life with a guy thank you very much," Hanabi scoffed before blushing and looking down, "and also… unless you haven't noticed, I'm not the best when it comes to talking to guys I'm attracted to, so I always believed that maybe if I embarked on the journey with a male, I'd eventually fall in love with a guy."

"… If at some point, in the midst of dodging enemy clans, we run into a strong, handsome young mercenary, I'll hook you two up and you can run off together… how's that?" Hoshiko picked his cup up. Hanabi took a sip of her tea before nodding and smiling.

"Have you ever found yourself attracted to someone?" the Hyuuga Princess asked.

"I'm actually pretty attracted to someone in our escorting gang… but it's more of an unrequited love," said Hoshiko. He turned to face the window as he continued, "It sounds so stupid when I say it aloud, but the Facility never taught us how to love, or how to express any emotions, so the only way I eventually learnt about mating and breeding rituals is through Animal Studies. Even with this inexperience in the field of emotions, she makes me feel this rush of emotions that I can't explain."

"Life is short… my advice is to just go after her. The worst she can do is say no."

"Out in the Wastelands, I think the worst she could do is stab me in the heart with a kunai knife actually," Hoshiko joked.

Hanabi giggled.

Suddenly the laughter was cut short. Hoshiko's eyes widened… Hanabi slowly made her way to the window and stared out of it whilst activating the Byakugan.

"Two strong chakra sources have entered the city from the skies… they don't look like good news," Hanabi growled.

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know, my range isn't as good as Hinata-onee-san, but I can sense their presence… I think the best plan of action is to pack up and run before they spot us."

"… No way, if they know you're in the Sanction then they'll be able to follow you to other Sanctions, we'll need to deal with them here and now…"

XXX

After another day of rest, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura finally received their traditional garments. The only things missing were their weapons' pouches and Sasuke's swords, which had been confiscated by hospital maintenance and handed to the gate guards. Feeling like they'd recovered from most of their injuries the trio decided to change out of their hospital garbs and throw on their usual attires, with the intention of being discharged that same day before noon struck.

Sakura disappeared into the bathroom in order to change while Naruto and Sasuke undressed in the bedroom.

The Uchiha quickly tied up his rope belt before glancing over at the blonde who was throwing his orange jacket in the bin after seeing the huge hole in the centre. The egotistical prick began chuckling maniacally. The irritated blonde turned.

"What's got you all giddy?"

"I'm just wondering how you've gotten this far is all… you seem like such a bland, useless mercenary, and yet here you are… escorting the most valuable duo in the world," Sasuke shook his head, "You know, it's probably your fault we lost them."

"You know you talk a lot of shit for someone banished by their own clan, dattebayo," Naruto snapped, which happened a lot when he was with Sasuke.

"At least I have a clan, Naruto-dobe. I am Sasuke Uchiha, there's a clan name after my given name, I'm not an orphan, my parents didn't give me up at birth!"

"I've always wanted to slap that pride out of you, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said throwing on his spare mesh undershirt.

"Then do it," Sasuke said slipping on his white shirt.

"We'll both be executed for that, you idiot!"

"Not if no one finds out… you, me, on the hospital roof, now!"

XXX

"What's that smile for you?" Sasuke asked as he took his starting position on the rooftop. The iconic rain drenched them as they stood a few metres apart.

Naruto's hair fell to his forehead as he grinned sheepishly, "Nothing, I'm just glad I finally get the chance to kick your ass without you having to take any cheap shots or sneak attacks, dattebayo!"

"You talk a lot for a runt who only knows one jutsu!" Sasuke's eyes pierced through the heavy rain as a pair of crimson orbs stared Naruto down, "HUH? What are you going to do when I pull out a Fireball Jutsu, or a Phoenix Flower Jutsu, or a Dragon Flame Jutsu, or A CHIDORI? Or, or, or! This battle is already over."

Naruto stared Sasuke dead in the eyes, and in his most serious voice he told him, "I don't fear your eyes," he taunted the Uchiha, "It's not about the number of jutsu you have in your arsenal, it's about what you do with those jutsu, dattebayo!"

" _Begin!"_

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

They sprinted.

The fighters locked hands and grappled for dominance. Sasuke pushed. Naruto didn't move. Naruto pushed. Sasuke leaned back.

"I'll need these," Sasuke stared into Naruto's eyes.

"What?" suddenly the blonde was performing hand signs with his right hand, whilst Sasuke completed that sign with his interlocked left hand.

"Thank you," Sasuke kicked the blonde into the air, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The rain lessened the effect of the flames, but Naruto still landed with a slightly cooked back. He got straight up though, only to run into Sasuke's foot. The Jinchuuriki rolled before running to his feet.

"I've got you now!" another Naruto grabbed Sasuke from behind, but a second later he was thrown onto the real Naruto. He dispelled instantly. Naruto ran in a zig-zag. Sasuke's tomoed eyes began to spiral

"Fool, I can see you!"

Sasuke blocked. Naruto swung around and went for a kick. Sasuke grabbed the leg and slammed Naruto's head against the concrete. The Jinchuuriki kicked him off. Sasuke weaved some signs and inhaled, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Naruto prepared to dodge.

Some puddles rippled.

"Huh?"

Sasuke kicked Naruto into the fireballs. The smoke rose from his clothing. Naruto fell onto one knee as Sasuke dusted his shoulder off.

" _Damn it, you're in over your head aren't you, Naruto,"_ he thought before looking around for something he could use to overpower the Uchiha even for a second _, "I know, I'll try some speed!"_ Naruto blitzed.

Sasuke's eyeballs moved in their sockets.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto slid across the floor as he was caught in the ball of ember. He hit the chain link fence and took a second to breathe. Sasuke pounced on him and began pounding his face, which was pressed against the, now bloody, fence.

"Get off me!" Naruto kicked the Uchiha back.

"Know your place!" Sasuke yelled as he came back with a knee to the eye. Naruto gripped the chain link fence and tried to kick, but he was too slow. Sasuke locked the younger man's legs under his armpits and connected with a few elbows, "You're too slow! You're too weak! You're not mentally fit! You've got no talent!" each sentence was punctuated with a fist to the face. The Uchiha asked Naruto what his purpose was, which gave the blonde enough time to slap him across the face, ending the ground and pound for a second.

"Ha… ha-ha, I told you… I would slap… slap the pride out of you," Naruto got to his feet and leaned against the fence.

Sasuke glared at his opponent. He dropped his left hand and went through some familiar hand signs, "Chidori!" he stood up straight and placed his right hand on Naruto's left shoulder, before waving the Chidori in the blonde's face, "Heal from this, why don't you!"

"No! Sasuke-kun! Stop it!" Sakura rushed out onto the rooftop in her usual sleeveless shirt and apron skirt.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke by the elbow and launched him into the opposing fence. The Uchiha landed on his feet, before dispelling the electric surge and growling, "He wanted this! He serves no purpose on our team!"

"I'll kill him! Watch me! I'll discover a jutsu, dattebayo, and I'll cut him down to size," Naruto coughed before letting go of the fence and collapsing in an uncomfortable manner.

"Sasuke-kun, are you all right?"

"Get away from me!" a testosterone-fuelled Sasuke pushed past Sakura and was about to re-enter the hospital when an explosion went off near the centre of the Sanction. The piece of art sent shockwaves out through the Sanction that pushed the rooftop mercenaries back.

"What was that?" Itachi questioned.

"I'll find out! It was about time I got into an interesting fight," Sasuke said as he leapt over the fence and into the Sanction.

"I'll follow-," Sakura climbed the fence.

"No! Sakura, I need to take you and Naruto to our hideout, you'll need to help heal Tayuya so we can find Hoshiko, Hanabi and Hinata, and get the hell out of here," Itachi said tossing Naruto over his shoulder.

"But…"

"This is not your battle… we must leave."

They shunshined away.

XXX

"Hoshiko!" Hanabi watched in horror as the man literally leapt into his death. A pair of men in black cloaks on a floating dragon had ridden into the Sanction and instead of running away, the hot-blooded brunette chose to get their attention and try to jump onto their dragon. The white clay monster exploded mid-air, drowning the speedster in a wave of destruction.

"Let's go!" Hoshiko sprinted past and grabbed Hanabi before racing down the stairs. The two men landed and stared at each other.

"It's not my fault! No one told me he was fast," Deidara grunted.

"This is Lord Pain's Sanction, you blonde buffoon! Try not to break anything, it's better to use an art form that is long and drawn-out for this mission," Hiruko started sliding against the wooden floor.

"… Yes, Hiruko-sensei!" Deidara followed.

Hoshiko stopped running when he reached the ground floor, "Make a run for the Sanction Gate, I'll meet you there," he said. Panicked citizens rushed past the duo in an attempt to exit the building. Hoshiko let go of the princess, but Hanabi turned and grabbed on.

"No, wait… you can't die on me, where are you going?"

"No one is dying today, I'm just going to get my backpack, it has both my stuff and Asuna's equipment in it. I'll simply speed past those two and get it. Now start running."

Hoshiko vanished.

XXX

A rough hand knocked furiously against a steel door as a powerful explosion caused one of the central skyscrapers to creak and shudder. A pair of onyx eyes stared through the door hole at two figures in black coats.

"Hidoi Unmei here, how can I help you?"

The taller figure dropped his hood to reveal a young Uchiha, "Shisui, we need your help."

"Itachi?"

XXX

"I'm on my way!" Sasuke leapt from building to building, nearing the battlefield.

XXX

Hoshiko rushed into the decimated room, grabbed his backpack, and dashed out. Only to encounter a pair of floating mercenaries who were waiting for him at the hotel's entrance.

"Where's the girl, un?" Deidara asked.

Hoshiko stared past the duo and saw Hanabi disappear into the crowd, "You'll never get her," he tightened his fists.

"The Rain Sanction is a small place," Hiruko said, "I'm sure she'll turn up. Deidara, dispose of him."

"Gladly," the blonde lit up.

XXX

 **So, that's Chapter Six, and a setup to the first battle between the Escorting Team and Oumagatoki. With the team split up across the Sanction, and with the need to find Hinata still high on their radars, will they be able to set aside their differences and earn that paycheck? We'll see, feel free to favourite, follow it and leave a review if you wish. Good luck, reader and enjoy your day.**


	7. What It Means To Be A Jinchuuriki

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** Yeah, I guess it shows that although Tayuya may be violent and crazy half the time at least she has some ability to control herself when faced with her best friend, and she really should act quickly before someone really does snap Naruto up.

 **Peskypinch:** Thank you, it's an era in time and setting that gives space for a lot of worldbuilding and character development, which I will definitely do.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Seven: What It Means to Be A Jinchuuriki**

XXX

Smoke rippled outwards in a wave as one of the Rain Sanction's tallest hotels creaked, moaned and cried. Poor civilians and resting mercenaries alike scrambled as the skyscraper threatened to come down on them. As they sprinted, they all rushed past a group of mercenaries who seemed set on breaking the most important rule of Rain Sanction. No fighting. A single curly-haired man stood nonchalantly in his skin-tight white shirt and pants with a large blue sash holding them together at the midriff. He lowered his goggles over his brown eyes and grinned. A blonde man in a large black coat leapt off a giant white dragon and landed on the damp concrete as puddles formed around him.

"I'll search for the girl, keep this one busy," Hiruko demanded.

"No, you don't!" Hoshiko charged. Deidara tossed something.

"KATSU!" an explosion blew Hoshiko through the hotel's large windows and into the lobby. He slid through a potted plant, was flung over a chair and banged his head against the receptionist desk. The dragon flew away. Deidara entered the building. People paused by the stairway to avoid joining the battlefield, "I don't want to cause too much damage so, it would save me a lot of trouble if you just died, un. It's inevitable, why drag all these people down with you?" he shrugged.

Hoshiko rushed. Deidara dodged.

"I was hoping you'd resist, un!" Deidara revealed a pair of mouths on his hands.

"What the fuck?" the speedster paused. The mouths were chewing on something… "Is this…" they spat at him. The white balls of clay lit up, "A Kekkei Genkai?"

Explosions shook the building's foundation, "A mixture of earth release and lightning release to form a gorgeous ball of beauty, un," screams echoed around the lobby as the building moaned, "Is it just me, un, or is there no piece of art more beautiful than that fleeting second of light caused by a volatile explosion?" Deidara cackled.

"How's this for a volatile explosion!" someone leapt through the smoke and landed a powerful kick to the side of Deidara's face. The blonde was thrown over the receptionist desk. The deadly mercenary looked up at his assailant. They both grinned. Sasuke dusted his shoulder off before activating his Sharingan, "You seem very proud of your Kekkei Genkai, well prepare to experience the most powerful dojutsu in the world."

"An Uchiha," Deidara chuckled, "How magnificent, un!" Hoshiko vanished. Sasuke charged forth. Sasuke reached out and grabbed Hoshiko by the neck. Deidara vaulted over the duo and casually strolled towards the door, "I hope you don't mind if we take this outside."

"Get out of my way!" Sasuke yelled.

" _You_ grabbed _me_ ," Hoshiko whined.

Sasuke threw him off and chased the Oumagatoki member outside. He was greeted by a plague of white insects swarming around his feet. His sandals turned the bugs to mush as he stepped on them.

"Watch out!" Deidara yelled as he flew overhead. Sasuke tried to dodge, but the bugs combined to form a rising mound of clay around Sasuke's legs. The Uchiha struggled as Deidara formed the ram hand sign, "Katsu!"

XXX

"What's going on out there?" Kin cried as an Itachi clone entered the room with Naruto on his shoulder and Sakura at his side. The Uchiha rushed to Tayuya's side and laid the hyperactive mercenary down before turning to the onyx-haired Jinchuuriki.

"From what I can gather, someone attacked one of the skyscrapers near the centre of the Sanction," Itachi explained before turning his attention to the pink-head and two unconscious characters, "Sakura, will you be able to heal them?"

"Of course, but who do I start with?"

"Does it matter?" Itachi questioned.

"Yes! Yes, it does, these aren't scraped knees I'm dealing with; it'll take me at least thirty minutes to do either of them," Sakura explained.

"Tayuya," Itachi insisted.

"Why Tayuya?" Kin asked, "Naruto is a Jinchuuriki."

" _This bitch?"_ Tayuya grunted, but her body was so incapacitated that not even her grunts were audible. The temporary shelter shuddered as another explosion rippled through the Sanction.

"They both are, but the fact that Tayuya has more than one jutsu in her arsenal makes her more valuable to us at the moment," Itachi said.

"Are these people after us?" Kin questioned as Sakura knelt over her best friend.

"We don't know, but why else would someone break the number one rule of Sanctions, other than for a prize as valuable as a Hyuuga?" Itachi thought aloud.

"What are we gonna do then, huh? I mean, the main team is currently split up across the entire Sanction in search of Hinata. If they go after Hanabi, how will Hoshiko hold them off by himself? How will we hold off these attackers _and_ find the three bastards who've been pursuing us since the Land of Fire?" Itachi had to cover Kin's mouth to shut her up.

Sakura began working on Tayuya's bite mark.

"True, our team is currently stretched out, but we're not stretched thin just yet. If we all do our jobs perfectly, then we can escape without causing much more stress," Itachi tried to calm the Jinchuuriki down.

"And what are our jobs, might I ask?" Kin was sceptical.

"Sasuke already went off to see what the attackers are after, so if they do go after Hoshiko and Hanabi, I'm sure they have enough cover. Those two can be our Hanabi Protection Division. We will have to be the Healing Division considering how we've got two downed members who need assistance. Our job is simply to make sure Naruto and Tayuya make a speedy recovery, nothing more, nothing less. Fuu and the real me had to stop searching for Hinata to visit an old friend, a friend who can help us have a smooth journey from here on out. Asuna, another one of my clones, and Ino are currently searching for Hinata, they've been given orders to not engage, but to simply follow the princess until we've all regrouped. We each have a job, and I have a plan… so there's no need to stress," Itachi succeeded in de-stressing the woman's nerves. Kin's breathing began to regulate.

"Okay… well then, how can I help?" Kin turned to Sakura.

XXX

"How anti-climactic," Deidara sighed as he sat on his one-man bird, "I'd never faced a member of the Uchiha Clan, un. I expected so much more from someone with the fabled Sharingan."

Hoshiko rushed out of the building and burst through the dust cloud to reveal nothing but a badly burnt log, "Damn, even I didn't expect that one," the speedster scanned the area.

"Chidori!" Deidara looked over his shoulder. The Uchiha pulled his arm back.

"Katsu, motherfucker," the blonde effortlessly tossed a bug over his shoulder. Sasuke caught it with his right hand as it went bright yellow. The explosion almost knocked the Oumagatoki member off his bird. Sasuke, who'd thrown the bomb away at the last possible second, flew into a neighbouring building.

" _This is fun and all, but the last thing I need is Lord Pain on my back for destroying one of his precious Sanction blocks. I should either move this battle outside or finish this quickly using C1,"_ Deidara thought. Hoshiko leapt through a seventh storey window and landed on Deidara's clay bird. The speedster kicked. The blonde caught his foot and threw him off. Hoshiko grabbed onto a tailfeather and jumped back on. Hoshiko jumped into the air. Sasuke shunshined in.

Miraculously, Deidara blocked Sasuke's kick with his right hand and blocked Hoshiko's kick with his left forearm. He spun them both mid-air. They landed on the bird's wings as Deidara leapt off and created another bird to land on. Sasuke tried to chase, but his leg dug into the falling bird.

"No way you can survive this one," Deidara assured himself, "Katsu!"

Another explosion. At the last second, Hoshiko propelled himself away and into a building, through the window. Sasuke threw his burning shirt off as he landed on his feet. A pitch-black flame-like pattern had spread itself across his face, neck and torso as he breathed heavily.

"Damn it! They're both extremely quick, I'll admit," Deidara made sure Hoshiko was still inside the building before digging his hands into his coat, "Maybe I'll have to take this battle outside after all… but how will I lure them through the gates, un?"

.

.

.

An explosion went off, followed by another, and another, and another. They all ran in a straight line through the Sanction streets. Sasuke and Hoshiko sprinted, side-by-side, through the wet streets of Rain Sanction. A large bird dived in to shit out a rolling ball of clay. Hoshiko sped up and left Sasuke behind. The explosion caught the Uchiha, but he used the momentum to launch himself over the speedster.

The Rain Sanction was surrounded by a large moat. The only way a normal person could get from the gate to the Sanction relatively dry was using the pathway. A long straight path of concrete between the city outskirts and the large wooden gate on the southernmost tip of Rain Sanction. To try and escape the torrent of bombs, Hoshiko embarked on the, roughly, five hundred metre dash from the Sanction's outskirts to its silent gate.

"Wait, slow down!" the gate guard yelled as he saw the speedster cutting through the air.

"No fucking way!" he sped past the man.

"Public use of Ninj-," the man was cut off by an explosion's shockwave. It pushed him to the floor before enveloping him in an intense wave of heat no normal man could survive. Hoshiko came to a halt and looked back as the fireball dissipated.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" a section of the water behind the large wooden gate rose into the air as steam in an instant.

"There he is," Hoshiko prepared to run in, but he realised that the Sanction's confiscated weapons were stored in the gate guard's box in front of the big entryway. He slowly made his way into the room in search of his weapons' pouch. He searched through the knocked over cabinets. Luckily, they had dates on them, "October 10th, October 11th, October 12th!" he found the date on which he'd arrived.

Before he could retrieve the pouch though, he'd have to lift the cabinet to upright it. He placed his hands under the cold metal. An explosion shook the room, "Yeah, yeah… I'm… coming!" he growled as the cabinet went from horizontal to vertical, "Hoshiko," he smirked as he unboxed his pouch… there was a long box labelled 'Sasuke Uchiha' in there too.

XXX

"So… what brings you to my humble adobe?" Shisui sat on a comfortable leather chair as dust and sand were shaken off the ceiling by vibrations. Fuu raised an eyebrow and turned to Itachi. The Uchiha had halted a mission as important as finding a princess in a dying Sanction just so he could speak to this guy, but Fuu saw nothing impressive about the man.

Shisui was probably a year or two older than Itachi with short curly black hair and a pair of soft onyx eyes. Even though he was supposed to be 'in hiding', Fuu found the man dressed in the iconic Uchiha high-collar dark shirt with baggy black pants and a tanto blade holster strapped to his shoulder, wrapped around his torso.

"Fuu, allow me to introduce you to Shisui Uchiha, also known as Shunshin no Shisui or Shisui of the Teleportation Jutsu. He apparently went against the orders of Uchiha Clan Council two years ago, so he was banished, never allowed to bear the name Uchiha ever again."

"Not like I actually cared about that title in the first place," Shisui shrugged it off before raising a steaming cup of tea to his lips for a sip. The soft-spoken man invited both Itachi and Fuu to take a seat, "Now once again, why are you here?"

Before they could start Itachi had to ask, "Who's Hidoi Unmei?"

"It was an alias I picked up on my journeys, do we really have time to discuss things like that?" Shisui wondered.

"No, um, we're looking for a white-haired man," Itachi allowed Fuu to speak first, "I tried asking the bartenders around the Sanction, but they're useless, ssu."

The house sighed.

"A white-haired man?" Shisui placed his tea on the table. He used his hand to cover it from the dust as it rained onto the table, "I can understand why they were unsuccessful. You'll have to be a lot more specific, the Rain Sanction's full of even crazier people than that."

"He goes by Jiraiya," Itachi said.

"You knew his name all along and never bothered to tell me, ssu?"

Shisui chuckled upon hearing the name, "Oh okay, I see who you're looking for. You want to take the Hyuuga Princess from him."

"Take it from him!" Fuu erupted, "He took her from us, that little shit!"

"You were chosen for the suicide mission?" Shisui asked.

"Suicide mission?"

"That fucker followed us from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rain's border just so he could steal one girl, is it just me or do I sense some paedophilia vibes? The next time I see him, I'm gonna, I'm gonna!" Fuu's foot hit the table as she climbed onto her chair and raised her fist to the sky, "Suicide mission?"

Shisui got up. Instinctually, Itachi threw his hand over the man's cup to stop more dust from getting in. The older Uchiha walked over to a bookshelf, "Yeah, I guess I can understand since you weren't much for myths and legends when we were growing up but," the curly-haired Uchiha pulled out a thin navy book with only six or seven pages in it. He had to activate the Sharingan to decipher the strange symbols on the first page, "it's believed that the deaths of Hamura and Hagoromo actually kick-started one of the myths and legends in the old Uchiha files."

Shisui shot a glance at Itachi, who wasn't taking Shisui seriously at all. "What are you trying to tell me, Shisui-san?"

"I'm not saying anything," the young man smirked, "this book though, it's saying that the gods are coming to earth for that princess specifically."

"Why would gods be in an uproar over an engaged woman?" Itachi stood up.

"Now listen to me," said Shisui, "According to this myth, before the gods had the chance to make life, the god of death chose to make monsters to be the epitome of death. Angered by how the god of death tainted his world, the god of creation, Izanagi, made humans. He gave humans this thing called chakra and gave humans the ability to destroy the Death God's monsters. In defeat, the Death God stored his monsters away and slowly but surely, each generation of humans became stronger and stronger and yet, more and more violent at the same time. Seeing that there was no point in having them use chakra anymore Izanagi dropped the God Tree on earth while he was tending to a heavenly garden-."

"How do you drop a tree?" Itachi squinted.

"Listen!" Shisui pointed to his ear. The room shook.

"Do we have time for this?" Fuu watched cracks appear along the walls.

"The tree sucked all the chakra out of the humans and forced man to worship it. Generations passed until a being, who was already not earthly in nature, took a bite of that God Tree's fruit directly against the gods' permission, thus turning that being into a Rabbit Deity," Itachi resisted the urge to ask why the deity would have to be rabbit based, "The creation of the Rabbit Goddess restarted the cycle of chakra usage amongst humans to the point where Izanagi knew that another God Tree would do nothing but make them more resistant to love, so he bargained with the Death God to release _some_ of his monsters to scare the humans. But, after generations of living without the fear of monsters, humans lost the knowledge they needed to seal those same monsters, so the monsters killed and killed until less than five per cent of humanity remained. The King of the Uchiha Family went up to the top of Mount Fuji and asked the gods what he could possibly do to save the remnants of humanity. The gods, mostly Izanagi, seeking to protect what he worked so hard to create, decided that a sacrifice was the best option. He stated that not just any sacrifice would do, only sacrificing the most powerful land's most powerful family's most precious female. That would serve as proof that the humans have not forsaken the gods, whilst also showing that the gods are still merciful but can be merciless if crossed. But… the King realised that that would mean having to sacrifice his own wife. He pleaded for the gods to give him another option, but Izanagi stated that unless the humans were willing to challenge the Death God himself, there was no way to stop this plague. They added that he needed to be quick, because the Death God had probably heard their condition and if he killed the queen before she was sacrificed then there would be no way to stop the Death God."

"And you think that that myth could be in effect now?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, I know it is," Shisui explained as the room shuddered.

"Perhaps the monsters in the bedtime stories are the ones causing all this destruction," Itachi looked at the floor.

"Bedtime… I'm sorry did you say 'bedtime stories'?" Fuu stuttered, "What kind of bedtime stories were you guys told as children?"

"Now you know why the Uchiha Clan is so fucked up," Shisui shrugged.

"So… the Land of Lightning is simply planning on sacrificing Hinata-hime," Itachi thought aloud.

"Or Hanabi."

"Or both…" the curly-haired Uchiha shrugged again.

"What's our plan of action?" Fuu turned to Itachi.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm assuming the reason those three stole Hinata was so they could deliver her to the Land of Lightning for the bounty… at first, I thought this task was some happy-go-lucky marriage mission… I can't send another girl to her death," Fuu stated.

"I have so many questions," Itachi sighed.

"Do we let them leave with the Hyuuga Princess or do we save them?" Fuu asked.

Itachi stared into Shisui's eyes, "What do I do, brother?" he pleaded for an answer.

XXX

"There you are!"

A wooden scorpion tail wrapped itself around Hanabi's arm and carelessly flung her into a wall. The Hyuuga heiress had chosen to hide in an alleyway as Rain Sanction civilians rushed past her. She couldn't handle the constant pushing and shoving, so she took refuge there thinking Hoshiko was handling the two mercenaries. Surprise, surprise, the speedster let her down again. The semi-spherical man in his black hooded coat jumped off the giant white clay bird-dragon and slowly slid towards the princess.

"Who the hell are you?" Hanabi pressed her back against the cold wooden wall.

"Does it even matter? I just want you to come along quietly," he lifted his tail to his ragged face, "Please don't make me sting you with this, your body will suffer from painful paralysis in seconds and that's not a nice feeling… for you, of course."

Sasori sensed a sudden increase in chakra behind him, "Rasengan!"

Hiruko leapt out of his cloak as a ball of chakra tore his coat apart with rotation and cracked the earth he once stood on. The wooden puppet clung to the wall before turning to judge the idiot who had just tried to kill him.

When the dust cleared, seven figures were crowded into the alleyway, which was, at most, four people wide. A white-haired man, a pale snake-like man, a blonde woman, a woman with white eyes, a woman with long black hair, a much younger blonde woman, and an older redheaded man.

"Onee-san!" Hanabi's face lit up when she saw Hinata standing there. She tried to get up off the wall and rush to the woman, but the puppet's stinger drilled into the concrete in front of her. Hiruko looked back at the group. Jiraiya smirked. He raised an eyebrow.

"You look familiar," the sage folded his arms, "Have I fought you before? Highly doubt it considering how most people that face me don't try to fight me again."

"I know who you are Jiraiya of the Fire Country, Legendary Toad Sage. And of course, you have to have heard of me, or at least you've probably heard of my achievements," the man on the wall growled in his harsh raspy voice, "Like when I… conquered an entire country with 100 puppets."

Jiraiya's eyes widened, Orochimaru grunted, Tsunade gasped. She said what they were all thinking with fear in her voice, "S… Sasori of the Red Sand? What are you doing all the way up in the Land of Rain?"

"I'm collecting some very precious items, and spreading bloodshed… you can be my next victims," Hiruko chuckled lifting his left hand to his face. Wooden cylinders burst out of his gauntlet. Jiraiya shrugged. Tsunade and Orochimaru turned to each other.

XXX

" _Tayuya! The Curse Mark has chosen you to lead it into the light!"_

" _Why the fuck are you telling me this!" Tayuya cried as she jumped from branch to branch trying to escape whatever was chasing her. She'd been hopping through the trees for the past ten minutes, but the landscape wasn't transforming in any way. She grabbed her ears as the voices grew louder, "What am I supposed to do with that information?"_

" _DEFEAT US!" three figures appeared up ahead, "And gain our strength!"_

 _One tried to skewer her with a pair of bone-like claws. Tayuya hopped away. A second attempted to headbutt her but ran into a tree trunk as it spun. Tayuya leapt up. The third figure swung its huge metal club in her direction. Tayuya grabbed her flute and blew. She was still smacked into next week. She bounced off a tree and was smacked into the earth by the first creature._

 _When she landed, she took a second to look up at the three entities coming down from above. The first two had bandages around their eyes and ears, the last one had hair covering its face. All three had mouths sealed with stitches and were thrice Tayuya's size. They roared nasally as they came down. She rolled away to avoid sure-fire death._

" _Five Tails!" Tayuya threw her arm out. Nothing._

 _The headbutting creature caught her, sending her into a tree. She managed to barrel roll as the club-wielding member of the trio levelled the tree in seconds. Tayuya looked at her right hand and saw the flute, ready to be played. She lifted it to her lips._

" _That won't work," Naruto's voice told her. She looked around._

" _ARGH!" she dodged a skewering again. Tayuya hopped onto a tree and performed a few flips to end up on a branch._

" _Naruto? Where are you?" Tayuya looked around. The blonde's mysterious voice had disappeared. The only sound flowing through the forest's thick shrubbery was the sound of disgruntled breathing. The redhead looked down._

 _The three creatures, in their full grotesqueness, stared up at the Jinchuuriki before vanishing into the forest. Tayuya placed the flute in front of her lips and scanned the area._

" _You need to use that thing on your neck," Naruto's voice explained._

" _What?"_

" _ARGH!" the huge metal club broke through the tree and destroyed Tayuya, launching her into a vertical chop from the clawed creature, she fell into a headbutt and landed on the damp grass._

" _Shit!" Tayuya cried before rolling away. All three creatures hit the ground at the same time, throwing her into some bushes. Tayuya grabbed her abdomen before tapping at her lip to feel the blood gushing out, "Get up, bitch! No time to die in this weird place!" Tayuya yelled. She spat the blood out into a nearby bush before grabbing a kunai knife and charging in._

" _You've got this!" Naruto yelled._

" _Dattebayo!" Tayuya rushed in and stood between the three beasts._

 _She countered all their hits with that single kunai knife as black geometric lines formed across her face. The long-haired creature stopped fighting to leap back into the forest. The other two attacked Tayuya from both sides._

" _Summon more of its power!" Naruto demanded._

" _Fuck yeah I will!" Tayuya yelled, deflecting a giant club with a tiny knife. She turned and kicked the clawed creature into a tree before headbutting the club-wielder into another tree, "Come at me!" she smacked her chest as the lines went all the way up to her hands._

" _ARGH!" the third one came flying in. Instincts told Tayuya to play her flute. She blew hard enough to slow the beast down, but it still hit her. She didn't stop playing. The redhead landed on the tree and dashed up into a tree branch to continue playing her sweet melodies._

 _The clawed creature rushed up the stairs. Tayuya played the flute with so much energy her hair grew longer and darker. The headbutting creature bit into the tree trunk to try and break it apart, but Tayuya's flute dropped the monster. Horns sprouted from her head. The club-wielding beast didn't bother attacking. It took a step back and knelt. The other two slowly followed._

" _There you go, Tayuya. I'm impressed at how quickly, you learned to control your inner demons, you must have a lot of experience, kukukuku," Naruto's voice died away leaving a hissing voice in its place._

" _What are you talking about?" Tayuya asked. When she stopped playing the flute, the three creatures dispelled and turned to clouds._

" _My Curse Mark has given you a special gift! I just needed to see if you could handle that gift, kukuku!"_

"Tayuya!" Kin shouted. The redhead almost threw Sakura off as she got up.

"What's going on?!"

"Are you experiencing any pain?" Kin wondered. Tayuya paused to just stare at her fellow Jinchuuriki and grinned. Her breathing steadied and she rambunctiously dropped her hand on Kin's shoulder.

"Fuck no! I'm ready to conquer bitches."

"Then let's get to Naruto," Sakura turned… Naruto's body was gone.

"What the-?" Kin searched the room quickly, before turning to Itachi, who shrugged, "Where'd he go?" the room shook. A section of the ceiling came down, barely missing them.

"He'll meet us on the battlefield," Itachi said before opening the door for the ladies to run out.

XXX

"Sasuke! Catch!" Hoshiko yelled prior to tossing two objects at the Uchiha. Sasuke looked back as two swords dug into the mud behind him. He did a quick spin and grabbed both blades before analysing them. It didn't take him long to notice the first blade, it was his original sword. His classic Uchiha blade, decorated with an Uchiha emblem and the navy blue Uchiha colour scheme, but then he turned to the second one. This one was new to him. It was thinner, lighter and blacker. It was, overall, better.

"Katsu!"

Sasuke shunshined away to dodge the explosive, "Whose sword is this?" Sasuke asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Hell no!" Sasuke double stabbed the next huge blob of clay. Electricity surged through his new blade cancelling out the explosion, Sasuke spun and flung the clay allowing it to explode, "I… I… can channel chakra through it. Beautiful! It gives me an idea!" he slid his Uchiha sword into his belt and sprinted. Hoshiko sprinted too.

"What, un?" Deidara flew a little higher, unaware of what the duo was planning.

Hoshiko pulled a scroll out of his weapons' pouch, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke flew by, missing Deidara. Hoshiko threw a pair of demon wind shuriken. They missed. Sasuke flipped mid-air. The shuriken shifted too.

"Shit!" Deidara finally spotted them.

He got caught by six thin strings. Sasuke tugged. Deidara was trapped. "Full Burst!" Hoshiko kicked Deidara. His foot got stuck inside the man, "The fuck?!" Deidara twirled to reel Sasuke in.

The blonde leapt out of the white bird's stomach and formed the ram seal, "Explosive Clone! Katsu!" the Earth mercenary landed with a smirk as smoke came down from above after the explosion dissipated, "No way you could survive that. Kills confirmed!"

One figure fell down from above. Deidara's eyes widened when Sasuke's Sharingan stared into the young man's blue eyes. Sasuke landed with Hoshiko in his arms. His single wing smouldered as heat radiated off it.

"A wing?" Hoshiko raised an eyebrow.

"Stay out of my way!" the black flames on the right side of Sasuke's face had merged together to form pale grey skin with a single Sharingan surrounded by a sea of black. He threw the speedster away and commented, " **I can't protect you in this form**!"

"C1!" Deidara tossed a swarm of flying white clay insects.

"Chidori… Senbon!" Sasuke made a new jutsu on the spot, tossing the Chidori as needles, nailing the insects to the wooden gate. Deidara rammed his hands into his pouches. Hoshiko opened another scroll. Sasuke grabbed his new sword.

"Nice try!" he tossed some clay over his shoulder to form a giant bird. Deidara flipped onto his creation and flew away.

"Don't run away!" Sasuke chased after him.

Hoshiko threw three shuriken. One barely caught Sasuke's sandal to stop the emo in his tracks. The other two hit the earth in front of the Uchiha, setting off and explosion. Sasuke leapt into the air.

"Minefield!" the speedster warned. Sasuke grabbed his Uchiha blade and tossed it downwards, before landing on it.

The sword dug into the earth. Sasuke stood, single-footed, on the sword's hilt.

.

.

.

Deidara floated over the battlefield, "Shit, un! That was close!"

Sasuke was breathing heavily. Hoshiko looked across the battlefield to Sasuke almost to ask, what now. Sasuke shrugged before looking back up to Deidara.

"Fire Style: Double Grand Fireball Jutsu!" two voices yelled in unison.

XXX

"All I need to kill you is my Hiruko puppet and just a drop my p-," Sasori's bragging was halted by a ball of bright light behind him.

"Rasengan!" the white-haired shadow clone barely missed the puppet. Hiruko swung across the alleyway and landed behind the group. The deadly mercenary wrapped his tail around Asuna's waist. The feral mercenary was flung into a building.

"Don't get hit!" Tsunade warned.

"That's always the plan, isn't it?" Jiraiya clapped his hands together to ruffle his hair. Hiruko opened his mouth, "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

Silver needles vs white needles. A hail of sharpened blades clashed mid-air. Sparks flew as both participants refused to lose out, but Hiruko decided to hop into the air to fire a wooden cylinder from his left arm. Jiraiya protected everyone with his mane, irritating the puppet. The cylinder exploded to unleash more needles which bounced off the spiky coat.

"Go! Orochimaru!"

Jiraiya had created enough of a distraction for Sasori to jump right into the Snake Sage as he exploded out of a wall to grab Hiruko. The puppet launched a kunai knife at the snake who slithered around it. He grabbed the puppet's tail.

"Tsunade-hime!"

"I've got this!" she flew.

"Poison Gas!" Hiruko's mouth opened to slow the female mercenary down.

"Shit!" Tsunade paused mid-jump. Sasori slapped her out of the air with his right hand, before flipping around to fire a needle into Orochimaru's neck. The snake collapsed. Sasori landed gracefully and began chuckling.

"If you know about me then you've probably heard of my gruesome killing methods," Sasori slowed the battle down to cackle, "My Poison Gas Technique and my Poison Needles can't kill instantly, but they can paralyse anything in seconds and will slowly and painfully kill you over a three-day pe-!"

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

The Frog Sage's fireball towered over the puppet, "Pathetic!" Sasori jumped back, "Fuck no!" he spun around upon sensing Asuna's chakra behind him. His mouth opened to fire a set of needles. The black-haired woman was saved by a lava shield that solidified and caught the needles.

"Ninja Art: Floral Poison!" Ino yelled. She nailed Sasori in his mouth with a beautiful dart shaped like a rose. The puppet flipped again and landed on the wall. Asuna distanced herself.

"It's useless, no matter how many of you there are, I will cut you down in seconds with my poison," Hiruko spat the dart out, unaffected by its poisons.

"Tsunade-hime, you good?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Of course I am, you old man," Tsunade did a push-up to lift her body off the ground.

"What about you, Orochimaru?"

The disgusting Snake Sage vomited to reveal a poison-free version of himself, "I'm perfectly healthy, kukukuku," the man licked his fingers seductively, "Oh, Tsunade, did you get the 'information' you needed?"

The buxom blonde knelt over the pale man's rotting corpse, "Yeah, I just need a sample of this poison, and I can make an antidote," she chuckled.

"An antidote? Blasphemy!" Sasori fired another set of needles. Tsunade hopped away in time. Jiraiya dashed left. Orochimaru dashed right.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Jiraiya roared.

"Wind Style: Lost in Tornado Jutsu!" Orochimaru yelled.

The perfect balance of wind and fire release created a deadly firestorm. Hiruko's mouth opened mechanically, "Water Style: Water Trumpet!" the wooden marionette fired a jet of water through the hole he'd usually use to fire needles. The water cancelled out the firestorm.

"Summoning!" a voice yelled.

"A Summoning Jutsu?" Sasori's eyes widened.

"Triple Rashomon!" three gates rose out of the ground around the confused Oumagatoki member. The gates met and sealed the puppet inside. Tsunade began sprinting.

"On my shoulders!" Jiraiya dropped onto his knee. Tsunade stepped on his back as her diamond began glowing, "Needle Jizo!" the needles flung the blonde into the air. Her Hundreds Healing kept her relatively safe as she rose up.

"ARGH!" Tsunade's fist doubled in size as chakra swarmed around it. She clenched, releasing the hairy needles. Gravity did its thing to pull the mercenary down at an incredible speed.

"Not on my watch!" Sasori yelled looking up.

Tsunade screamed. The impact sounded painful, but for who? Orochimaru quickly lowered the three gates to release the dust cloud that'd welled up. Jiraiya rushed to the scene. Ino, Asuna, Hinata and Hanabi rushed over to see what was left of the puppet. The smoke cleared quickly. Tsunade's body went limp. She'd landed on the murderer's large poison-tipped tail. Hiruko's scorpion stinger threw the blonde off.

"Next?"

"This battle might drag on for longer than I expected. You two, run for the gate, we'll catch up to you!" Jiraiya ushered the two valuable Hyuuga Princesses away. Ten needles drilled into his side, "Shit! My nerves… run!" he stared into Hinata's eyes as he fell.

"I AM SASORI OF THE RED SAND!" the aggressive puppet's eyes widened. Orochimaru attacked.

"Let's go!" without second-guessing it, Hinata chose to grab Hanabi's hand and drag her towards the southern gate. Unfortunately, an explosion went off around the corner. Sasuke rushed around the corner. Hoshiko almost slipped as he ran.

"Run the other way!" Hoshiko pleaded, "Other way, other way, other way!"

"Art is an explosion!" someone threw down another explosive. Hoshiko rushed to cover the duo.

Hanabi still flew into a nearby wall. Hinata was tossed into a dumpster. Hoshiko hit the ground, rolled and jumped to his feet. Deidara flew overhead. Itachi landed and rolled away. Fuu flew past. Shisui turned just in time to dodge a C1 spider. The explosion caught the back of his shirt. Tayuya and Kin were the last to join.

Sasuke whipped out his sword. Sasori's tail met Sasuke's sword to save Orochimaru from getting stabbed in the neck. The Snake Sage watched in amazement as the Uchiha effortlessly used both his sword and his Curse Mark to block an attack that would've done a lot of damage. Sasuke dashed away. He had to come back to stand between Sasori and Deidara.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Jiraiya chuckled before coughing up some blood. He groggily got up, but the poison was working its way through his body in an excruciating fashion… he wasn't going to last long without Tsunade.

"I have one!" Hiruko's tail pulled back, "DEATH!"

Blood splattered on the white-haired mercenary's face. The old man closed one eye before muttering, "… Shit."

.

.

.

Naruto tried to hold onto the poison-soaked tail as it drilled deeper into his stomach, mixing deep crimson blood with dark purple poison.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Tayuya's eyes watered. She'd literally just woken up from a dream in which she thought she'd lost the blonde and now the dream seemed more real than she wanted to believe. Kin's heart rate increased. Asuna looked back. Fuu's eyes widened. Hoshiko grunted. Sakura raised an eyebrow. Itachi growled. Shisui was unbothered.

"Idiot," Sasuke commented, "It was only a matter of time."

"Where'd this kid come from?" Jiraiya wondered.

"My thoughts exactly… but it doesn't matter," Sasori cackled.

The blonde had literally come down from above. He magically appeared on the battlefield only to get himself stabbed. Hiruko tried to throw the blonde off his stinger, but something was holding the wooden weapon down. The blonde's breathing slowed as his muscles grew weaker. Sasuke grunted. For a second, the battle froze.

Fuu sensed it. Kin sensed it. Tayuya sensed it. Roshi sensed it.

And in unison, they all whispered, "Shit!"

Naruto's eyes opened to reveal a pair of scarlet irises. The blonde began sweating profusely, "No…" he groaned. His fingers and toes clenched as he coughed up more blood, "I'd rather die than use your chakra."

Hiruko's eyes widened.

" **Kurama."**

No one, except Sasori, could see it, but the giant fox had grabbed the redhead's tail and was holding onto it with a menacing grin on his face. Hiruko couldn't pull it back. The fox's eyes thinned into slits. His exhaling drenched the puppet in steam. Sasori swallowed hard.

" **Guess what though… you don't have a choice in life… this is what it means to be a Jinchuuriki,"** Kurama bellowed before destroying Hiruko's tail with his claws **, "Now roar,"** he demanded.

Something built up from Naruto's stomach. He felt it run effortlessly up his chest into his throat _, "Fuck,"_ his mouth opened to release a roar. The simple act of roaring unleashed an invisible wave of chakra that circulated outwards like a deadly ripple. Buildings were dismantled. Bodies were thrown around. Trees were uprooted. Hiruko broke apart. Hell was let loose on the battlefield.

A redheaded figure landed casually on the earth a couple of metres away. The wooden pieces of Hiruko rain down around him, "A demon? I've dealt with demons before," the handsome young man commented with a straight face.

Energy was still being released from the blonde. The eighteen-year-old bent his knees a little and lifted his arms to cover his face as rocks and splinters vortexed around his body. The stab wound healed instantly. His whiskers grew more feral. His beautiful blue eyes turned to scarlet slits. His hair ruffled. Canines turned to fangs. Fingernails turned to claws.

" _What the hell am I looking at?"_ Sasuke's eyes widened _, "Is… is this the same usuratonkachi that I beat half to death an hour ago?"_ he asked himself. Naruto's eyeball shifted to stare into Sasuke's eyes. Never had the Uchiha felt so inferior before in his life. Sasuke was immobilised by the dense chakra. It was drowning him. He couldn't breathe. He looked over to his brother. Itachi was in a worse state. The chakra had brought him to his knees. Sasuke had to ask, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Naruto looked to the skies, " **RAWR**!" his roar opened up a hole in the clouds. The red chakra circulating him stood over the battlefield, choosing to take the form of a giant fox with nine large tails swaying in the wind. Sasori's cloak was barely clinging to his body. If it weren't for chakra being channelled to his feet, the man would've been thrown into a building… at least, he would have if there were any buildings still standing in the vicinity.

Sasori whispered, "Come at me…"

XXX

 **That's Chapter Seven over and done with. A quick by-the-way, this Naruto has the full Nine Tails sealed inside him, so he's able to tap into more of the Tailed Beast than he could in the original when he had half the Tailed Beast.**

 **A quick summary of the chapter. Deidara and Sasori are called into the Rain Sanction by Lord Pain to retrieve Hanabi, but all hell breaks loose in the process. Itachi calls upon his blood brother, Shisui, for assistance. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade and Roshi decide to help the mercenaries take on the duo, and it's revealed that the Escorting Mission might be more of a death sentence than the group thought. Let me know if you're enjoying the story by favouriting it and following it, and let me know if you're not by leaving a review that I'll comment on or answer in the next chapter.**


	8. Negativity

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** She definitely should, before someone manages to snatch him away from her. In a group with so many more female mercenaries than males, she'll definitely have a lot of competition if she doesn't claim him soon.

 **Thecla:** Thank you, I hope you keep reading to see that development.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Eight: Negativity**

XXX

"Naruto-kun," a single clear stream journeyed from Tayuya's eyelid to her chin. She fell to her knees and gripped a handful of sand, "This chakra… why… do I… I remember you."

XXX

"Ah yeah! I knew it, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled victoriously upon ascending a massive dune and spotting a bounteous treasure in the distance. The signing of the Fire-Eddies Agreement left the barren stretch of sand between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound vacant, so the blonde had been chased farther north than usual by the lack of resources and looting stations. He had almost given up on finding even the smallest remnants of a cottage, until he'd seen a massive structure or building laying in ruins behind a nearby set of dunes.

"You almost gave up, you blonde dumbass. You're gonna be rich, dattebayo!" he clicked his heels in joy. The hyperactive scavenger slid down the dune, "ITAI!" The loose sand came out from under him. He rolled down the hill, gathering sand and dust on his attire as he tumbled.

The youngster started off screaming in pain as he fell, but by the time he got to the foot of the mound he was already laughing at himself. Unlike mercenary-work, scavenging was a very peaceful job, so Naruto could afford to laugh at his clumsiness for a second. He dusted his spiky hair off and jumped to his feet. Luckily, his favourite orange and black jumpsuit had been partially protected by the white coat he'd appropriately chosen to wear for the journey to the desert.

" _ **I don't like this place,"**_ a voice bellowed.

"Shut up, Fox," the scavenger casually suppressed his tenant. After years of being tortured by the cruel beast, Naruto had begun to develop an immunity to the Nine-Tailed Fox's threats and overall ominous energy. He'd finally taken advantage of the fact that the fox was sealed behind a large cage, without no way to escape. It gave him a sense of confidence. Something he'd really needed to learn before, especially as a scavenger striving to create his own jutsu in the Wastelands.

Naruto reached the first giant slab of concrete, "What the hell was this place?" he asked looking around. If the point of this building's positioning was to make sure no one found it, whoever positioned it deserved a medal. The pile of rubble was surrounded by acres and acres of sand. If Naruto's spatial memory was correct, which he doubted, the nearest Sanction was the A Minor Sanction. The blonde lifted another slab before realising that most Sound Sanction buildings were made of sonorous wood that would play beautiful tunes when wind passed through them.

The scavenger stepped on something soft. He looked down with eyes broadened, "What on earth?" the blonde tried to stay calm when he saw a sickly pale hand covered in dried blood, "Are you okay?" Naruto tried to see if the man was really dead. He lifted the man's arm, before letting go. The hand hit the earth. A sombre atmosphere loomed over the young man.

"What happened here?" Naruto walked around the rubble. He stepped over a few more bodies and made his way to the largest slab of concrete which had a strange kanji symbol on it, "Facility? Is this? No way… what happened to the Sound Facility?" Naruto slowly backed up.

Facilities were usually heavily guarded. Not even the Uchiha or the Senju bothered to take on Facilities, because their test subjects were renowned for being trained killing machines. Its destruction could only mean someone had managed to kill a whole fleet of killing machines. Could that someone have been in the area still?

"What happened?" Naruto's screaming was interrupted by faint screaming under the rubble.

"Is someone there?" a muffled voice asked.

Naruto pulled out a shuriken, "Who's there?"

"My name's Kin, please, help us!"

"Us?"

"It's just me and my friend, please, she's fading fast."

Naruto followed the voice to another large slab of concrete which was sitting on top of a ring of steel bars. The feminine voice died, "Where are you?" Naruto wondered. A whitish hand reached through the steel beams and grabbed Naruto's healthy pink hand. The blond leapt back.

"Help us," she pleaded.

"Are you Kin?" Naruto asked. The woman responded with a nod. The slightly older woman was so fair, but dirt and grime had gathered on her beautiful face to create this aesthetically displeasing appearance, "How did you get in here, dattebayo?"

"My friend's dying!"

"Okay, okay," Naruto reached into his weapons' pouch to reveal an explosive tag, "Take a step back," Kin obeyed, disappearing into the darkness. Naruto knelt in front of the thick beams and wrapped the tag around one of them. He formed the tiger seal before hopping back.

The explosion was loud and effective. The slab began to slide though. Naruto rushed in and caught it on his shoulders, "Get out!" Kin slowly made her way out of the cave dragging someone's body as she moved. The blonde quickly dropped the slab and fell back, before looking over his shoulder.

His heart skipped a beat.

Kin, who he'd already seen up-close, was wearing some sort of green flak jacket with a black undershirt and beige camo pants. Her entire attire was tattered and had been worn away, probably by whatever disaster caused this much destruction. Her hair was shoulder-length, but it looked like she'd recently cut it with a kunai knife or something. It looked unprofessional. She actually didn't look too bad, other than the bruising and cuts on her skin. Naruto didn't really care about her at that moment though, his attention was directed to the woman she was assisting.

The blonde couldn't put his finger on. Maybe it was because of how injured she looked, or how vulnerable she seemed in that moment, or perhaps it was because of how her red hair sat chaotically on her calm face… or possibly it was just how pleasing she looked despite all that blood and dried mud. But something about her made him feel something, a spark of electricity that ran from the palms of his hands and feet, past his heart and into his brain, like he'd seen her before, or at least he had hoped he would see her for a long time to come.

" _ **Well, look who I ran into,"**_ a pair of crimson eyes squinted in pleasure.

" _ **Please,"**_ a feminine voice flirted _ **, "Don't act like this wasn't meant to be."**_

"Tayuya, Tayuya, we're out," Kin lightly slapped the woman's face, getting some dirt on her palms. The redhead, too weak to celebrate, shook as she grabbed her best friend's hand.

"I told you I'd get us out of there."

Naruto shuffled through the sand on his knees until he got to the redhead's side. He placed his left hand on her bony cheek whilst rummaging through his backpack with his right hand, "Dattebayo, I actually have some food and water in my pack, I'm sure that'll make you feel better."

Kin stared into Naruto's backpack as the blonde searched.

" _ **Here's a little pick-me-up,"**_ a deep voice scoffed.

" _ **Aww, it's good to know you still care."**_

Tayuya's hazel eyes opened up for the first time in a long time. Something kick-started her chakra pathways, allowing the energy to flow through her again. Naruto's blue eyes lowered to stare into the woman's eyes. Tayuya's hand touched Naruto's. The blonde stopped rummaging. His thumb rubbed her skin as it softened. Her hand laid on his, their fingers interlocked. Tayuya stared.

" _He's hot,"_ the redhead thought. She glanced over to Kin for a second. The black-haired woman started blushing when she noticed what was going on. Tayuya stared back into Naruto's eyes. The scavenger's eyes never moved away from hers. He looked frozen in place _, "I-Is this love at first sight?"_ physical feelings returned to Tayuya's body at the worst possible moment. The first emotion that ran through her body was pain, "FUCK YOU!"

Naruto's smile died. He backed up and got to his feet, "Oh… okay, sorry I didn't notice I was staring," the blonde rubbed his eyes, accidentally getting sand in them.

Tayuya's eyes widened. She turned to Kin who was giving her a 'what the fuck did you just do' look. The redhead immediately got defensive for no reason, "Where the fuck am I? Did you just try to kiss me? My fucking legs hurt like fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"My Sanction is less than a day away from here," Naruto said, "They can heal you."

"Unless you didn't notice, we're Sound Facility test subjects, I don't think any Sanction will take us in our condition," Kin shrugged.

"My Sanction is the Leaf Sanction, we take anyone in, no matter what their background is," Naruto grinned, "I'm exhibit A. You might not know it, but I'm a Jinchuuriki."

Tayuya's eyes lit up. Kin smirked, "Believe it or not, so are we."

Naruto flashed a foxy grin, "For some reason, I believe it, dattebayo. Now let's get going."

XXX

"…" Tayuya's hazel eyes stared at the epicentre of the ghastly chakra vortex. Naruto growled as his crimson eyes squinted, "What is this?" the redhead asked staring at her quaking hands.

Sasuke dug his Uchiha sword into the earth and looked up into Naruto's eyes. Sasuke began crying, "Fuck you! I don't know what you are, and I don't know where you came from, Naruto, but fuck you! I have worked hard and trained for years to be better than everyone around me. I thought I was just training to be better than my brother, now your disrespectful, useless ass comes out of nowhere and steals the spotlight from me? I refuse," he broke down in tears. No one actually saw him cry because the tears just flew off his face, but the sheer embarrassment of being brought to tears by Naruto's power made Sasuke want to vomit, "What the hell are you!"

Hinata also broke down in tears as her body pressed itself against the remnants of a building. She began muttering to herself, "I don't want to die. I know that I'm being taken to be slaughtered and honestly, deep down inside I don't want to go through with it. I know, I know that I'm from the almighty Hyuuga Clan and whatever they say goes, but I just want to live. I don't want this fake marriage, I don't want all this godly business and I don't want to be passed around like a hot potato. I just want to be Hinata. Is that too much to ask for?" her tears took over and she just erupted into a teary mess.

"Shisui, what's going on?" Itachi groaned.

"It's the Fox, it has the ability to sense and evoke negative emotions. Imagine that, Itachi, chakra so powerful it makes you want to express what's wrong with your world, it's beautiful," other than Sasori, Shisui was the only man standing up. They'd both channelled chakra to their feet the second they felt Naruto's chakra surge.

The chakra vortex bellowed before releasing a roar that would've destroyed the entire Sanction block, had it not already been in ruins. Naruto lifted his head with great difficulty.

"Come at me," Sasori taunted.

Naruto got down onto all fours, " **I'll rip your head off its neck** ," Itachi threw his hand out to stop everyone from interfering. Sasori effortlessly flung a set of needles. They drilled into Naruto's chest. Another roar launched those same needles into the earth.

"Poison immunity?" the redhead's eyes widened.

Sasori didn't get to blink. The chakra dissipated. Naruto punched a hole straight into the man's stomach. Sasori's pupils disappeared as his stomach was torn from his hips. Naruto delivered an uppercut to decapitate the man. The final attack was a downwards punch that cracked the earth and dismantled the redhead. Everyone snapped back into their senses.

Naruto looked up to Deidara. The blonde floated higher into the air as chakra tendrils tried to grab at his bird. The mercenary stared at the scattered remnants of his partner before screaming, "Sensei! How dare you, un! You monster! You fucking killed another man in cold blood, you horrible, you horrible – fuck, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha," the explosives expert burst out laughing mid-sentence, "I'm sorry, I couldn't think of something dramatic in time, Sasori-sensei, kill this fool, un."

The Jinchuuriki looked back over his shoulder. Sasori body parts flew through the air to reconnect under the black coat of death. The puppet's head spun on his neck. Sasori's cold eyes stared into Naruto's soul. He leapt back, Naruto gave chase.

"Sasori?" Deidara scratched the back of his head.

"Itachi, what's the plan?" Shisui asked aloud.

"Hey, I'm the leader here," Hoshiko said.

"Oh yeah, then what's your idea?" Shisui said.

Itachi scanned the group quickly. Sasuke probably didn't even have another Chidori in him, but he was trying to pretend like he could keep fighting by breathing slowly. Tayuya was mentally drained. Hoshiko was on the verge of collapsing. Sakura didn't have much ninjutsu in her, or at least Itachi hadn't seen it yet. Jiraiya was probably about to die if no one gave him any treatment. Tsunade was in the same boat as Jiraiya. Orochimaru, Roshi, Tayuya, Kin, Fuu, Ino, Shisui and Asuna seemed to be the only people healthy enough to fight a long fight. He'd wasted a healthy amount of chakra on shadow clones. There was no way Hinata and Hanabi were going to engage in the fight in any way, shape or form.

"Naruto can handle himself… let's… let's all go after the blonde one," Hoshiko suggested.

"No," Itachi interrupted, "Sakura, heal the two older mercenaries on the floor. We'll need to have a balance of healthy and tired people, while balancing out long-range, mid-range and close-combat fighters."

"Make a call," Shisui said. Deidara turned to the group.

Itachi closed his eyes. The team's healthy fighters were Orochimaru, Kin, Fuu, Ino, Roshi, Tayuya, Sakura, Shisui, and Asuna. The unhealthy fighters were Sasuke, Hoshiko, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and himself. The only long-range specialists were probably Kin and Tayuya. And the list of mid-range specialists consisted of Orochimaru, Ino, Fuu, Asuna, Roshi, Jiraiya, Shisui and himself. Finally, Sasuke, Hoshiko, Tsunade, and Sakura were most likely close-range combat specialist candidates.

"Sakura, heal up Jiraiya and Tsunade," Itachi repeated, whilst barking orders, "Tayuya, Fuu, Jiraiya, Ino, Sasuke and Sakura will assist Naruto. I'll take on the flying one with Kin, Orochimaru, Asuna, Shisui, Roshi, Hoshiko and Tsunade. Attack with intent, and attack as a team. Let's go!"

They split up. Sakura slid over to Jiraiya.

"No, no, heal her first," the old man pointed to the incapacitated lady, "She'll heal faster, plus, she knows the antidote," he said. Sakura was about to jump onto the blonde woman, and start healing her, but she felt the urge to see what poison Sasori actually used on the man.

Naruto rushed down an empty moist street on all-fours, " **RAWR**!" he screamed. Sasori exploded out of a building to kick the blonde into another building. Naruto landed on his feet.

"You're a monster," Sasori said, casually taking a scroll out of his pocket. Naruto growled, crouching, "I've dealt with monsters, how else was I supposed to become one myself?"

Naruto vanished. Sasori unrolled the scroll halfway. He pulled a kunai out. Naruto reappeared behind the redhead. Claws met metal knives. Sasori leapt away, summoned the scroll's contents, and landed just as Sasuke turned the corner.

The Uchiha froze in his tracks, "Is that…" Sasori spread his arms, creating chakra threads. They linked onto the puppet's body, giving it life. Tayuya turned the corner and raised an eyebrow. Fuu and Ino gasped. Sasuke blinked, "The Wind Daimyo?"

"Ah, critics," Sasori smirked, "I give you full right to judge my artworks… this is my most powerful piece of art. I call him the Third Daimyo in Distress."

Sasori jumped onto a small cottage. Naruto roared. Sasori jumped away. The blonde ripped a hole through the building's roof. Tayuya joined the battle. Her heart fell into her stomach as she patted her empty back pocket. Grunting, she tossed a couple of senbon. The Daimyo puppet blocked with its wooden arm. It shook the needles off.

"Where's your flute?" Ino asked.

"Knowing my dumb ass, it's probably still in the forest," Tayuya said, "No worries, I've been meaning to test my bond with the Five Tails."

"I hate ranged fighters," Sasuke admitted.

"We'll have to stick to throwing weapons and using distractions," Ino said.

Naruto sprinted up the building, "Or running straight at him, like a true motherfucker!" Tayuya smirked.

The puppet began releasing black sand from its mouth. Sasori hopped from one building to another. The sand followed him. Naruto clawed through the sand. It wrapped around his wrist. Sasori tugged. The demon was thrown into a building by sand. The Daimyo blocked a pair of poison flower darts. Naruto exploded out of the roof. The sand clomped together. Naruto punched. The black sand blocked.

" **RAWR**!" Sasori was blown onto a fourth building. The black sand spiked up. Naruto took a hit. The Daimyo blocked a volley of shuriken. Fuu appeared behind Sasori. The redhead smirked. Sasuke shunshined in with a demon wind shuriken. Sasori stared into the Sharingan. Black sand destroyed the roof they were all standing on. Sasuke fell through. Fuu sprouted wings in time. The Daimyo slapped her away. Sasori jumped on his puppet's head.

Ino turned to Tayuya, "He's effectively flying now," the blonde sighed.

"I love a challenge," Tayuya tossed three kunai knives. One with a bell attached. Tayuya planned to use something out of Kin's notebook. The kunai knives hit one of the two balls of black sand.

"This fight bores me. Time to kill them," Sasori noted, "Iron Sand: World Order!"

The Daimyo shut its mouth. The two balls of sand collided. They spread out in branches. Sasori dodged by flying away.

" **They're poisonous**!" Naruto screamed.

Sasuke ran down a flight of stairs. The branches broke through the ceiling. Everything exploded. They expanded around him. He kicked through the window and dug his swords into the wall to escape the needle sphere. Fuu fluttered away.

"Vapour Style: Dense Shield!" Tayuya protected both Ino and herself. Naruto just roared to destroy the needles.

"We can't have that," Sasori tugged on the threads. The needles wrecked the floor Sasuke was holding onto, collapsing the whole building. Sasuke threw his Uchiha sword into the branches. He grabbed his new sword, landed on the old sword and leapt away.

The branches trapped Fuu. She flew down. They grew like bony black hands around her. They reached. In her terror, she stopped. They grasped her. A branch stabbed her through the stomach. The mint-haired woman cried.

The vapour shield broke apart. Turning to steam. The black needles penetrated it. Tayuya, without thinking, grabbed Ino and threw her away to take the branch through the shoulder. The blonde rolled to dodge four more black branches. She jumped to her feet. Two branches destroyed the concrete on either side of her thin frame. Ino tried to breathe. Naruto was right, the needles were coated in thick poison.

Sasuke landed on the concrete. Naruto got on all-fours. Ino stepped away from her branchy doorframe. Fuu hung with a branch through her stomach. Tayuya stood motionless with one through her shoulder.

"Magnificent. They have three days," Sasori clenched his fist. The branches retracted to form two separate passive black shapes. A sphere and a cone. Fuu's body hit the ground. Tayuya's did the same.

Ino looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked over to Naruto. The emo turned to Ino again, "We're going to need Sakura," Ino said.

XXX

Deidara flew higher to avoid Orochimaru's snakes. They snapped at his bird's wings. Missing. Something moved in the blonde's peripheral. He dug his hands into his side pouches.

He threw them out to clasp both hands around Asuna's kunai knife. The woman dropped the knife. Deidara flipped it with one hand. She swung. He dodged. She kicked. He jumped off. Deidara grinned. Asuna couldn't move her legs.

Deidara formed the ram hand sign. Itachi intercepted the falling teenager to save Asuna's life. Deidara's kunai met Itachi's. Asuna cut her way out. Itachi's eyes widened. Deidara threw a clay spider in his face. The blonde spun to land on a building's roof. Mid-air, Shisui took the kunai knife from Itachi and distracted Deidara. Itachi landed on a balcony. He threw the spider off his face.

Deidara parried Shisui's kunai knife attacks. He cut at the man with his left hand to reveal a shadow clone. Deidara looked up at his bird. The flying clay creature divebombed. Orochimaru appeared from behind the blonde. He jumped onto the bird. Orochimaru reached out. Deidara leapt off.

"KATSU!"

The spider blew up. The roof exploded. The dust wave grew. Deidara vanished. The battlefield was submerged. Kin threw three senbon, attached to bells. She heard them jangle loudly.

"Ah, shit," she muttered. She got pushed over by something in the darkness.

"He's going for the Hyuuga Princess!" Itachi realised.

A huge white dragon roared as it extended both wings. The bells rung. Hinata pushed Hanabi behind her. Sakura glanced over her shoulder. She was too far. The dragon hissed. Deidara laughed.

Hoshiko grabbed both of them. He dropped them and stumbled into a wall.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. Hoshiko turned to her.

"Your stamina reserves are very low," she noted.

"Tell me something I don't know," Hoshiko breathed heavily.

"When your chakra hits zero you die," Hanabi pointed out.

"I knew that," the speedster claimed.

"Well, you don't act like it."

The clay dragon dug its claws into the concrete to try and stop. It slid down the street before coming to a halt. Itachi, Shisui, Kin, Orochimaru, Asuna and Roshi formed a wall between Deidara and the princesses.

The dragon started flying.

"Do your bells do much?" Itachi asked.

"In my panic, I forgot to tie strings to them. They'll do nothing other than tell us where that dragon is," Kin grunted, "But that's where the Three Tails comes into play"

"Either way, it's okay. Knowing an enemy's every location is half the fight," the ponytailed man explained.

"C2: Exploding Dragon!" Deidara used the ram seal again. The huge dragon lost one of its tail sections. A fat white creature appeared in the clay dragon's mouth, "Launch!" it attacked.

"Lava Style: Scorching Sphere Jutsu!" Roshi blew hot rock at the tiny dragon. They both exploded mid-air. Red chakra swirled around the old man as he got ready for another attack.

They charged. Another dragon flew out. Shisui doubled. Itachi pulled out a kunai. Roshi went through some hand seals. Kin did similar hand signs. Asuna rushed up a building. Orochimaru slithered up another building. Hoshiko pushed himself off some rocks.

Shisui vanished with Itachi.

"Lava Style: Scorching Sphere Jutsu!" the explosives cancelled each other again.

Kin finished her hand signs, "Coral Style: Armoured Water Warrior!" she propelled herself through the explosion with coral as armour. The dragon flew backwards. Kin missed her senbon attack.

"Water Style: Water Whip!" Asuna announced.

Deidara blocked the whip with a bomb.

"Striking Shadow Snakes!" Orochimaru gripped Deidara's other hand. The dragon caught Orochimaru in its mouth.

Hoshiko ran up the dragon's snout.

"Itachi!" Shisui shouted.

"Yeah!" Itachi came down from above with his kunai.

Shisui looked at Itachi. Itachi looked at Hoshiko. Hoshiko looked at Shisui.

Perfect three-pronged attack.

Deidara was sucked into the dragon's body. He popped out the other side. Itachi slashed the clay. It caught his wrists. Hoshiko and Shisui were caught at the ankles. Deidara tore his arm free from Orochimaru's grip.

"That's got to be four kills right there," Deidara jumped away. He formed the ram seal. He had to block Asuna's kick, "Fucking annoying, un!" he yelled. Once again, Deidara had to think.

Kin was coming at him from under the dragon. Roshi was coming from above.

"C1," he opened his hand to reveal a clay bird. He kicked Asuna away. Roshi hit the floor. Tayuya stopped, "Five, six, seven kills. Katsu!"

The dragon expanded. The bird exploded. Asuna was thrown through a building. Roshi smashed through a concrete pillar. Kin jumped back. Hoshiko freed his foot to propel himself away. Shisui freed himself. He grabbed Itachi and shunshined. Orochimaru tried to slither off but the dragon's bite tightened. The dragon exploded. Kin got caught in the explosion.

Hoshiko collapsed. Itachi slide along the ground with Shisui.

"Sharingan activated!"

"Sharingan!"

They both looked around.

Deidara walked through the flames.

Roshi felt his back. It crackled as he tried to move. Asuna exhaled before falling unconscious. Kin created a bit of coral on her back. Orochimaru was charred beyond belief. Hoshiko had exhausted his chakra reserves. Itachi pulled out another kunai. Shisui pulled out his own.

"You got a plan?" Itachi asked.

"I bring him closer; you get him in a Genjutsu," Shisui whispered.

"Tsukuyomi: Nightmare Realm?"

"I don't care what you call it, I'm not wasting Kotoamatsukami on this clown."

Deidara smirked.

"Go!" Shisui rushed.

XXX

There was a heavy knock at the door.

"I'll get it," a young man called from downstairs. The dark-haired man threw off his black coat as he grabbed the golden knob and twisted, "Hello?"

Two figures stood in front of the concrete doorframe. The larger figure was over seven-feet-tall and loomed over the tanned man. He lifted his samurai hat and gave Shinji a creepy grin, "Well aren't you gonna let us in?" he growled.

"Tenzo?" Shinji stuttered, "What are you doing here?"

The second figure tilted his tasselled samurai hat and furrowed his brow, "Its rude to make people wait outside when the sun is this hot. Some people are trying to keep their skin from darkening, you know."

"Hot?" Shinji looked up. The crew had settled on a hideout near the border of the Northern Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. The sun's heat wasn't as tiring as when they were in the desert, but Shinji remembered the man standing in front of him hailed from the Land of Snow, where any sun was too much sun, "Oh yeah, of course, Kagerou, come on in."

The shorter man entered first. The large burly giant behind him ducked under the door frame and squeezed into the hideout, "Nice place," he yelled, untying his metal shield from his back.

Shinji closed the door.

Footsteps echoed down from upstairs, "Who is it?" the shirtless Kisame groaned rubbing the back of his neck, "Oh, it's just you two."

"Yeah," Tenzo bellowed, "When Lord Pain summoned Sasori and Deidara to the Land of Rain, he told us to come here."

"How did he know where we were?" Shinji asked.

"No one questions how Lord Pain knows what he knows, he just knows," Kagerou removed his samurai to reveal an extremely pale face, silver white platinum hair, effeminate blue eyes and a black half-face mask.

Tenzo threw his hat across the room to reveal a bald face, earthly onyx eyes and a gnarly brown beard, "Now then, what's for lunch?"

"The closest Sanction is a few kilometres that way. If you want to run through a deadly forest, be my guest," Kisame leaned against the wooden handrail.

"Deadly forest? You can't tell me you're afraid of a forest, Kisame," Tenzo bellowed.

Kagerou removed his black coat and laid it on the table in front of him, leaving him in a loose white shirt and a matching pair of white pants, "Death can come from anywhere in the Wastelands."

Tenzo picked his heavy shield up and tied it to his back, "Yeah? Well if the gods want to kill me then I'll die, but if I can fight it, then I'll come out on top," he grabbed his hat off the floor, "Are you coming?"

"And risk getting a rash from sunburn?" the feminine mercenary asked, "I'd rather die."

"Did you actually see Sasori and Deidara on your way here?" Shinji asked.

"Nope," Tenzo stopped, "We were in the Land of Winds when we were told where you guys are. What were they going to do anyway?"

"Capture the Hyuuga Princesses," Kisame said.

"So early into their mission. Lord Pain must be in a rush to get more money."

"Tenzo, go get us some food," Kagerou said.

"Make me!"

"What?"

"I said I'm going!" Tenzo slammed the door shut behind him, scaring Shinji.

Kisame burst out laughing, "Shinji, show this guy around the hideout, and Kagerou, try not to spook him."

XXX

"Iron Sand: Gathering Assault!" Sasori spread his fingers wide. The Daimyo opened his mouth to create more magnetic black sand. The sand gathered behind him to form seven different shapes.

"Iron Sand Spear!" the conical mass formed into a sharp pyramid.

"Iron Sand Hammer!" the sphere formed into a densely-compacted rectangular prism.

"Fun Sun Nails!" some mass from the final clomp of iron powder separated to form five large, but sharp black needles.

"Iron Sand: Black Iron Wings!" Sasori used the last of the black sand to create a pair of large wings for the Daimyo puppet.

Naruto looked down at his right hand. The poison was soaking into his system. He could feel it. He wasn't immune. Its effects were just slowed down. He had to end this fight before it rendered him immobile.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan. His body didn't have much fight left in it. The emo glanced at his shoulder, "I need more…" black flames began to spread across his body again.

Ino eyed Tayuya's unconscious body, then stared at Fuu's. Sakura had taught her a few medical techniques whilst they were trying to heal Sasuke, "Maybe."

"… Die," Sasori yanked on the threads.

XXX

Deidara made sure to drop a clay centipede before vaulting over Shisui. A second Shisui appeared. Deidara dodged mid-flip. A third Shisui came down with a kunai. Deidara hopped away. He made sure to avoid Itachi, who seemed to be planning something.

The Shisui apparitions disappeared leaving the real Shisui to come in with an attack. Deidara slapped Shisui's kunai away with a clay bug. Shisui kicked. Deidara leapt back. Shisui chased.

"C1!" Deidara flung a swarm of clay bees.

Shisui grabbed his tanto, "Lightning Style!" he channelled lightning through his tanto to cut through the clay bees disabling them. Shisui stepped on one. Deidara saw it.

"Katsu!" Shisui shunshined. Deidara swung around a building. The Uchiha followed him. The blonde took a tanto sword to the chest, "You thought I was too slow?" Deidara asked turning into a white clay clone.

"Shit," Shisui's eyes widened.

"KATSU!"

The clone destroyed a section of the tall Sanction building. Deidara grunted from his clay bird. Shisui stood parallel to the ground. He looked up into Deidara's eyes with a fresh pair of red eyes, "You forced me to activate my Mangekyou Sharingan," he admitted, "Even worse is, you got me to use Susanoo," the green skeleton growled.

Orochimaru erupted from out of nowhere, "What?" the Snake Sage bit onto the blonde's arm. Deidara was quick to throw him off. Orochimaru wrapped his arm around the bird. Deidara went for the ram seal. A green skeletal arm reached out. Deidara jumped away.

He landed on another clay bird, "Katsu!"

Orochimaru was saved by Susanoo's hand. Shisui threw the Sage at the mercenary. Deidara took a direct hit. Orochimaru wrapped him in snakes before jumping away. Shisui shunshined in, grabbed Deidara and landed in front of Itachi.

"I'm ready!" Itachi opened his right eye.

Deidara broke the snakes surrounding him. He tightened his grip on his kunai knife and stabbed Itachi in the eye.

"Itachi?" Shisui froze. The clay centipede wrapped itself around Shisui's legs. Deidara turned to kick him away. Orochimaru came down from above. Deidara threw a clay sloth, that grabbed Orochimaru to restrict him. He formed the ram seal.

"STOP!" Shisui yelled.

The whole world went crimson, collapsed and swirled into Itachi's eye. The man closed it in pain. Deidara's eyes widened dramatically. The clay sloth had wrapped itself around _his_ torso, and the clay centipede had tied _his_ legs together. Itachi was still standing. Shisui was still standing. Orochimaru was casually walking up to the group. He was still caught in the snake trap.

"That is the power of the Uchiha," Shisui deactivated his Sharingan. Itachi covered his right eye.

"You should have let him blow himself up," Itachi groaned.

"Not everyone deserves death, you know?" Shisui chuckled.

"Am I too late to the party?" Tsunade asked.

"When you're up against an Uchiha, the party probably never began in the first place," Shisui joked. Itachi wiped the blood from his eye.

"You figure out what to do with him, I'll go help the others," Itachi said, "Tsunade, can you heal the ones who were injured?"

"It won't even take me a minute," the blonde laughed.

"Good, Orochimaru, let's go."

XXX

"Not you again," Sasori groaned.

Red smoke engulfed the surrounding area. The redhead pulled on his puppet to raise him above the cloud. Jiraiya appeared on a toad that was a few metres taller than he was. The Toad Sage made sure to strike his fanciest pose as he arrived on the battlefield.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was right behind him.

"Heal me," Sasuke commanded, Sakura rushed to his side.

"What can I say? My timing is unprecedented!" Jiraiya hopped off the toad.

"Unprecedented? I just killed two of your friends, and now I'm going to kill you!" Sasori closed his fist. The Iron Sand Hammer instantly crushed Jiraiya where he stood.

"What the fuck?" Naruto growled. He had gone back down onto all-fours, this time because he didn't have enough energy to stand up straight, _"That guy took me down in seconds… and now this redhead took that guy down in seconds… what are we up against?"_

" _ **This feeble body is giving up on me! Even when I lend you my strength you waste it! You… you… runt!"**_

"Rasengan!" Sasori looked over his shoulder. Jiraiya winked.

"Damn it," the puppet cursed as the blue ball of chakra grew bigger and bigger.

XXX

 **And that is Chapter Eight done and dusted. As the chapter comes to a close, Deidara seems to be defeated whilst Sasori is on the verge of it. If you haven't favourited or followed the story yet, do so to show me that you're enjoying the fanfiction and so you can find out when the next chapter will be coming out; and if you have anything to say, positive or negative, leave a review and I'll get back to you in the next chapter. See ya.**


	9. A Family?

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** Thank you, and yeah, the relationship between Naruto, Tayuya and Kin is a lot more dynamic than it appears on the surface.

 **Thecla:** Thanks, and no, the sannin and the gang just had the same goal in mind, to protect Hanabi and Hinata. I've noticed the plot seems to be pretty slow too, I'll try to speed it up from here on out.

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Nine: A Family?**

XXX

" _F-Five Tails… Five Tails, I'm scared,"_

" **Don't be, Calf, just open your eyes,"** a voice said. Tayuya followed the loud voice's instructions. Her hazel eyes opened slowly as her senses came back to her. The redhead saw a beautiful grey sky above her. She curled her fingers to collect a handful of damp sand. Her exhales were drowned out by the loud clattering of waves hitting the shore.

"Is… is this heaven?" Tayuya turned onto her side.

" **This is my home,"** the hundred-metre-tall dolphin-horse commented.

The redhead forced herself to stand. Tayuya looked at herself. She was wearing some a graceful ankle-length beach dress with a large straw hat, that didn't stop her beautiful red hair from flowing in the wind.

"How did I get here?" Tayuya tapped her left shoulder. She tried to stay calm when she felt her hand go through her shoulder bone, "I'm dying, aren't I?"

" **Have you ever been to the beach, my Calf?"** the streamline white beast stared out at the horizon. Tayuya turned to face the waves again. They crashed into the sand. She took a step back as the waves ran up the sand. They rushed past her, tickling her toes as they did. Tayuya stared. It was overcast. Lightning flashed in the distance **, "It's beautiful."**

"No… there was no beach in the Land of Sound, and we've only been in the Northern Land of Fire since last year," Tayuya sighed, "but yeah… it really is beautiful."

" **Ask Naruto to take you to the beach,"** Kokuou suggested **, "When this all blows over."**

"I'll ask him when we get to the Land of Lightning," Tayuya said.

" **You're a very impatient woman, why is this the one thing you hold off?"** Tayuya looked down. She fiddled with her fingers.

"I… I don't really know" Tayuya groaned. She glanced at her shoulder, "Damn it!" she coughed up some blood.

" **Don't be afraid… that just means he's here for you,"** Kokuou turned and trotted into the kilometre-high forest behind them **, "By the way… my name is Kokuou. As you said, it's about time we got acquainted… our friendship is going to be as valuable as those princesses when this is over."**

XXX

"Friendship?" Tayuya's eyes creaked open once more, "Na… ru… to," she whispered.

"I'm here," Naruto said.

He placed his hand on her cheek. She reached for his hand and placed hers on top of his. Their fingers interlocked. She stared at his soothingly calm face. The sunny skies above accentuated his features perfectly. His messy hair waved in the wind. His cerulean eyes stared back into her hazel pair. She could see the beach in his eyes. He gave her such a beautiful toothy grin.

" **We're safe**."

Tayuya blinked to reveal the real Naruto. The man was on his last legs and the rain falling around them made him look so much worse. His fleshy skin had gone pale showing off the purple bags under his eyes. His blue eyes were a bloody red, even more so than before because of the blood leaking out of them. Naruto's teeth were still deadly fangs and his face was ruined with scars and gashes, with the added bonus of purple streams running through his veins to indicate poison. He was so close to death it was scary.

"Naruto?" Tayuya's eyes teared up.

" **I'm okay… Sakura's here** ," Naruto gave the last of his chakra to Tayuya to keep her awake. He collapsed next to her. Her hands jumped to cover her mouth in shock. She honestly though Naruto was dead for a second. She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back. She breathed.

"What's going on?" Tayuya looked up.

Sasori had used the black wings to block Jiraiya's Rasengan.

"Naruto!" Sakura looked back at the blonde.

"Heal me first," Sasuke demanded.

"The poison is killing him!" Tayuya yelled.

"Ino, give him this antidote," Sakura threw a vile of elixir at the blonde, who caught it, "Give some to Tayuya and Fuu too."

"They're in the perfect position for another World Order," Sasori noticed.

"Rasengan Barrage!" another Jiraiya appeared. Sasori, carefree, blocked with the second Iron Sand Black Wing, "You've only got two wings!" a third Jiraiya appeared. Sasori growled. He hopped off the puppet and landed on the black pyramid. He tugged on the Daimyo, leaving Jiraiya to fall to earth. The old man landed on his feet. The man's fighting style was so fearless and slow, compared to his partner's fast-paced panicky style. He was really commanding the battlefield.

Itachi and Orochimaru rushed onto the field of battle, they both made eye contact with the redhead as they reached the fight. Sasori noticed the duo and asked, "So, does that mean that blonde idiot is dead already?"

Itachi scanned his environment quickly. Fuu was down. Naruto was down. Tayuya was out. Sakura was never in in the first place. Sasuke was out. Ino was out. It was only him, Orochimaru and Jiraiya. The crow king looked up and yelled, "He's probably not dead yet, and if you surrender now and leave, you could probably still convince Shisui to not kill him."

Sasori remained silent for a while.

"You want to let him get away?" Orochimaru grunted, "He's up against a member of the Uchiha and two of the three Legendary Sannin, there's no way we could lose, Itachi."

"Orochimaru, I think letting him go would be beneficial to both of us in this situation," Jiraiya walked up to the duo with a bit of chuckle. He lifted his shirt to reveal tiny holes that were still trying to heal over, "I've felt this guy's poison, it's not a pleasant experience in the slightest. These kids need Tsunade's antidote as quickly as possible."

"Sounds like a plan…"

"AHH!" Jiraiya jumped away, "Shit! Don't scare me like that, you short runt," Jiraiya scolded the red-haired puppeteer. Sasori ignored him whilst dispelled the Daimyo, trapping it in its scroll. He slotted the deadly puppet into his back pocket before turning to Itachi and holding his hand out.

"The deal is you give me the brat, I get out of here," Sasori said.

"Deal," Itachi nodded. He held out his hand too.

The redhead took it, "But the next time we meet, I'll make sure the kid doesn't get in my way," he warned the raven-haired Uchiha. He opened his cloak to reveal another scroll with the number '100' on it, "Your blood rests in this scroll, Uchiha, and I can't wait for the day when your beautiful eyes join the list, so I can make it 101."

"When that day comes, believe me, I'll be ready," the handshake tightened. Itachi stared into Sasori's eyes. His onyx pupils exploded with a burst of red and black. Sasori blinked. The Uchiha's eyes grew in size. The puppeteer winked.

Sasori let go. His cold plastic hand slid out of the man's grip, "That must be how you defeated Deidara. You better have a better plan for the next time we meet," he began walking towards where he last saw the blonde idiot that was Deidara. Itachi looked over his shoulder.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost, Itachi," Orochimaru smirked.

"I might as well have."

XXX

The sound of rain hitting concrete, wood and glass grew more thunderous as the day came to an end. Civilians and resting mercenaries crept into the Sanction to see the remains of their homes. Those who were lucky enough to build homes on the outskirts were lucky, most of their homes weren't even touch. Three of the skyscrapers looming over the Sanction though, were on the verge of collapse, and if they went down, a lot more homes would be destroyed. As the Sanction's construction workers returned to their homes, they knew they only had about a week or so to demolish the scrapers and start afresh.

"I think it's better if you guys rest here tonight and leave tomorrow morning when you're slightly more well rested," Jiraiya leaned against a wall with arms folded. He opened his eyes and looked around at his guest for the night. He made a quick headcount before laughing and turning to Tsunade, "How are we going to cater to thirteen people?"

Admittedly, their hideout wasn't the biggest building in the Sanction. In fact, to cut costs and be more incognito, the trio had sprung for a little three-bedroom cottage on the border between the outskirts and the suburbs. Their home wasn't really built to house, altogether, sixteen people.

"Don't worry," Shisui stepped forward, "My home wasn't wrecked in the attack, so I'll retire to my own sanction for the night."

Itachi's brow furrowed. He reached out to grab the man by the arm, "You're not coming with us?"

Shisui laughed at the comment. He looked past Itachi at the eleven other figures sitting in the living room. They were all drenched with sweat, blood and raindrops, but they were drenched as a team, "Last time I checked, this was a ten-man mission."

"Then who's going to lead us? How are we going to function without your wise words, Shisui-san?"

Hoshiko propped up on the couch, "What?! Leader? There's only one leader here."

Asuna smacked him on the back of the head to shut him up. The speedster cringed, "Not the time."

"But I'm the leader."

Itachi turned back to Shisui. The curly-haired Uchiha ruffled the younger man's ponytail and said, "Name one thing I did in that battle that no one else in this group could have done."

"You organised the group," Itachi stated.

"Really? Was I the one barking out orders left and right?" Shisui asked. Itachi stared at the floor. He thought. Shisui raised an eyebrow.

"But you helped me defeat Deidara, name another person in this group who could've survived an explosion like that at point-blank range."

Shisui stared at Sasuke, who was still being healed by Sakura. The onyx-eyed youngster breathed heavily as Sakura placed her hands on his naked chest. She looked up into his eyes. Sasuke smirked. A rush of blood heated Sakura's face, she kept her eyes on Sasuke's chest, causing another burst of bright red to hit her face.

"Sasuke's not ready to learn the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"You can't protect the kid forever, you know. At some point, Sasuke will experience great emotion and his eyes will evolve, don't make it so that when they do evolve, he doesn't understand why," Itachi let go of the older man's arm. Shisui nodded before making his way to the door. Orochimaru opened the door for the legendary Uchiha.

"But…"

Shisui stopped one last time, "Do you remember those stupid campfire exercises our counsellor used to make us do during the Uchiha Training Camp?"

"How could I forget them?" Itachi chuckled.

"As stupid as they were, remember how after a few of those every night, our group seemed to be communicating without actually communicating?" Itachi looked down again. Shisui took a step back to exit the building. He raised his hand and waved before yelling, "I'll be seeing you guys later," the door closed behind him.

Naruto blinked, "Who was that guy?"

"Stop moving around so much!" Tayuya yelled. After being taped up by Kin, Tayuya had taken the opportunity to bandage Naruto's wounds up. She promised herself it wasn't just an excuse to see him shirtless, but seeing his muscles tense up every time she rolled around him was really making her time worthwhile. The blonde didn't really want to be mummified in the first place, considering how quickly most of his wounds healed up, but Tayuya wasn't having any of it. She'd pinned the youngster down and grabbed a handful of bandages before he could even say her name in protest.

"I didn't move, dattebayo! And you can't blame me for moving, you have the touch of an angry gorilla."

"What did you say to me?"

"Nothing, Tayu-chan."

"Damn straight!" steam escaped from her nostrils. She ground her teeth as she wrapped some bandages around Naruto's bicep, "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"That bit of chakra you gave me, it actually healed most of my shoulder… so I just want to say thank you," Tayuya blushed.

"Don't thank me," Naruto grinned, "I didn't even know I could do that until Kurama taught me."

"Kurama?"

"The Fox," Naruto explained.

" _Naruto?" Tayuya was blown across the desert sand as Kin toppled over and rolled down a hill. They'd been ambushed by members of the Uchiha Clan. The tactical mercenary family had ensnared Naruto in chakra draining wires and set off explosions to incapacitate Kin and Tayuya, who were already on their last legs._

" _Tayuya!" Kin looked across as she hit the loose sand._

" _My legs!" she cried. The red-eyed bastards rushed her. Defenceless, she could do nothing but scream as they picked her up. Kin tried to get up and attack but another trio grabbed her by the hair._

" _No," Naruto yelled. The wires interlocked and tightened before pulling him down into the sand. The blonde shrieked._

" _We got ourselves two Jinchuuriki, Lord Madara was right about the Sound Facility explosion."_

" _Help!" Naruto pleaded._

" _And I'm surprised we got them in such a weak state. Saves us a lot of trouble."_

 _There was an explosion of chakra. Sand smacked the six Uchiha mercenaries. They all looked over their shoulders in utter horror, "What the fuck?" Naruto tore away from the wires and growled. His eyes were as red as their Sharingan, with claws at least an inch long._

" _Who the hell are you?"_

 _A giant red fox made solely of chakra loomed over the blonde as he got down on all-fours, "Just call me… Kurama!"_

What Naruto did to those Uchiha mercenaries, Tayuya had tried to suppress. All she chose to remember was that, when she woke up, she was being carried into the Leaf Sanction on Naruto's shoulder, whilst Kin hung from the other shoulder. Naruto claimed he passed out too after being dragged under a ton sand, he struck a last-minute deal with the devil and awoke to Kin and herself on his shoulders.

That chakra, that name, it was all so familiar, but Tayuya couldn't understand why until then. The redhead's hazel eyes stared at Naruto's muscular back. It tightened and loosened as he inhaled and exhaled. She froze. Naruto stared at her over his shoulder.

"You talk to your Tailed Beast?"

Naruto faced forward, "Talk is a… weird word. We have a strange relationship where he doesn't want me to die, and I don't want to die either. Beats me why."

"You want to know what I wish?" Tayuya asked. Naruto looked back, "I wish I could see the beach before this is over."

"That's a little random, Tayu-chan," Naruto said, "But I wanna see the beach too, dattebayo," he gave her his trademark foxy grin.

"… I'd fucking love it if we saw the beach together."

"You look like shit, ssu," Fuu said sitting down on the coffee table in front of Hoshiko and Asuna.

Hoshiko turned to Asuna expecting her to reply, "You better not look at me, because there's no way she just called me ugly."

Hoshiko chuckled before turning to Fuu, "Yeah, I did a lot of running around today, and with my low stamina reserves, I can only do so much running before I run right outta chakra," he noticed the heavy bandaging around Fuu's exposed midriff, "And what happened to you?"

"Oh, ha, I took a poisonous needle branch thing to the stomach, yeah, it really hurt," Fuu rubbed her stomach.

"And you're alive?" Asuna asked.

"That's the best thing about being a Jinchuuriki, ssu! My body is constantly healing at a rate faster than any normal mercenary."

"Oh, kinda like Naruto?" Hoshiko said.

"Honestly, Naruto's healing rate is ridiculous," Fuu giggled, "But almost, yeah, the only thing I needed treating for was the poison."

"What poison?" Hoshiko asked.

"The guy we were fighting was poisonous," Fuu explained, "He used puppets and these puppets had black sand that would harden and just spread like branches, ssu!"

"Damn, the guy I fought made things explode. He was a tricky one," the speedster looked up.

"You say that like you actually fought him," Asuna said.

"Hey! Before you even showed up, Sasuke and I were fighting our butts off," Hoshiko yelled, "Well, I was fighting him, Sasuke was just there to keep him distracted," he threw his arms behind his back and fell onto the couch. Hoshiko groaned as the couch absorbed his shape and took him in.

Fuu grinned, "You know another benefit of being a Jinchuuriki is that I've never once been out of chakra."

"You're really proud of being a Jinchuuriki, aren't you?" Asuna adjusted herself so both feet were on the couch. Fuu responded, unintentionally, by crossing her legs on the table.

"Of course, that's just how I've learnt to identify myself, ssu. I was an orphan so no one in my Sanction actually cared who I was until I was chosen to become a Jinchuuriki. Most people shunned me, but at least I was noticed, ssu."

"Uh-sounds like-ah, sounds like you had it pretty rough," Hoshiko moaned, trying to lift himself off the couch. He gave up and sank deeper into it. Fuu giggled.

"What is wrong with you?" Asuna glared.

"Oh, you can't judge me, you love me," Hoshiko blew kisses at the emotionless woman.

"Hey, I don't mean anything rude but what exactly do you do?" Fuu asked Asuna.

"Nothing but drag me down," Hoshiko laughed. Asuna threw her feet across the couch to give Hoshiko a mouthful of sandal.

"I'm more of a reconnaissance specialist. If I stare at an animal, I have the ability to take control of it, I can be your eyes in the sky or be use earthworms to crawl under your enemies."

"Now tell her what happens when there's no animal in the vicinity," Hoshiko grinned. He got another sandal in the face. Itachi walked into the living room and requested for everyone to grab a chair and gather around the table. The older man scooched Fuu over to give himself some room on the wooden table. He sat with legs folded.

Sakura stopped healing Sasuke to guide him to a chair. Asuna leaned against the four-person couch's armrest allowing Ino, Kin and Hanabi to sit. Hoshiko, too chakra deprived to care, refused to change positions, so if Kin and Hanabi wanted to sit comfortably they had to allow Hoshiko to place his legs on their laps, which they reluctantly accepted. Naruto sat on the one-man couch, so Tayuya rested on the chair's armrest. The redhead was flabbergasted when Hinata, out of all the open seats in the room, chose to sit on Naruto's lap.

" _Bitch?"_ Tayuya grinned.

"The four of you can come sit too, if you'd like to join," Itachi invited Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade and Roshi to relax. They took the three-seater, "This exercise was actually a suggestion from Shisui, we used to do it in the Uchiha Training Camp to help understand each other more."

"Uchiha Training Camp?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You were supposed to go next year, but… yeah," Itachi looked around, "We actually did this over a seven-day period back in camp, but I'm sure I can compress all seven questions into one night, even though there's sixteen of us and not five."

"So, it's like a team bonding exercise?" Fuu asked over Itachi's shoulder.

"That's exactly what it is. I'll ask a question, I'll answer it first too, then, Fuu, you can go next, then we'll go Hoshiko, Hanabi, Kin, and we'll carry on that way," Itachi said, "Well, on day one we did introductions so, let's go… name… clan, where you're from and how old you are."

"What if you don't have a clan?" Naruto asked.

"That's the beauty of this exercise, if you don't want to answer a question, then don't, no one's forcing you. You can just say your name and your age," Itachi adjusted himself, "And since I'm going first. My name is Itachi, from the Uchiha Clan, born in the Central Land of Fire, and I'm twenty-two."

"Damn, you're ancient," Tayuya said, sparking laughter amongst a few of the youngsters. Itachi shrugged, acknowledging the fact that he was, indeed, the oldest member of the group and the wisest, which was why him being the leader was such an obvious choice.

"If they think that's old, wait until they get to you," Jiraiya nudged Tsunade. The blonde's eyes widened when she realised that she was the oldest person in the room. She turned to the white-haired old man and punched him across the room.

"You don't talk about a woman's age, you old perv!"

"I like her," Sakura giggled.

"Fuu?" Itachi wanted to speed things up.

"Oh yeah, well, the name is Fuu," the mint-haired mercenary raised seven fingers, "and I am nineteen years old, with no clan, but I am from the Land of Waterfalls."

"Hoshiko, eighteen, I'm from the Land of Frost, and I don't have a clan either."

"My name's Hanabi Hyuuga, of the Hyuuga Clan obviously, and that would mean I'm from the Central Land of Fire too. I'm seventeen."

"Well my name is Kin, twenty years old, from the Land of Sound, but I have no clan."

"This sweet flower goes by the name Ino, I'm from the beautiful Yamanaka Clan of the Northern Land of Fire, and I'm nineteen."

"Asuna Kawamoto, from the Land of Trees… nineteen."

"I'm Sakura Haruno, I was born in a small Sanction in the Southern Land of Fire. I'm nineteen years old."

"My name is Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan… I'm nineteen, there's no point in sharing where I was born, is there, Itachi?"

"I may know, but that doesn't necessarily mean, everyone knows," Itachi explained.

"Central Land of Fire, where else would the Uchiha Clan reside?"

"I mean, we've got some clan members in the North," Itachi shrugged before turning to Naruto.

"My-my name is Hinata, Hinata Hyuuga, of the Hyuuga Clan, and… I'm from the Central Land of Fire, and I'm nineteen."

"Well my name is Naruto, of no clan, but I'm from the Northern Land of Fire, and I'm nineteen."

"The name's Tayuya, I'm originally from the Land of Sound, but I'm currently chilling in the Land of Fire, don't ask me how the directions thing works though. And I'm twenty years old."

"We're in the North," Naruto whispered.

"Yeah, I still don't fucking care."

"I might as well humour myself, kukuku, my name is Orochimaru, of no clan either, I was originally from the Central Land of Fire, but that was a long time ago, I'd rather not relay my age to any of you children either."

"Central Land of Fire, since when could someone with no clan even enter the Central Land of Fire?" Sasuke asked.

"That's none of your business, brat," Orochimaru hissed.

"Sasuke!" Itachi scolded.

"My name is Roshi, I'm another member of the no-clans list, yeah, I'm twenty-five years old and I'm from up in the Land of Earth."

"Heh, the name's Jiraiya, I've got no clan either but I'm from Central Land of Fire, my age… uh… after seeing how you reacted when you heard Itachi's age, I'd rather not share."

"Saving the best for last, I see, my name's Tsunade Senju, sister of the great Hashirama Senju, leader of the Senju Clan, and obviously, I'm also from the Central Land of Fire region."

"Your age?" Jiraiya leaned in and grinned.

"I'll shove my foot up your ass if you ask me that again!" Tsunade folded her arms before turning to Itachi.

The younger man cleared his throat before looking around, "The next question, tell us a bit about your family, it doesn't necessarily have to be your clan, but maybe someone you consider family," Itachi shifted on the table, "Like for me, my family would just consist of Sasuke and Shisui-san at the moment, I really value my family and I'd do anything to risk my life for them… Fuu?"

"My family, ssu?" Fuu put her finger on her bottom lip to think, "Uh… I'd say the only person I considered family prior to meeting you guys, was my old mentor Shibuki, but a Senju-Uchiha clash near my Sanction caused a fire to break out, and a huge mass of wood had sprouted in the path of the waterfall protecting our Sanction and its forest, so there were some complications and he kinda…" the usually energetic woman just stopped and shrugged whilst staring at the floor.

Itachi glanced at Sasuke for a second, the younger Uchiha lifted his head and turned to Tsunade almost to say 'Your brother killed this girl's mentor'. The blonde squinted. Sasuke turned back to Itachi, who had his Sharingan activated. The stoic man stood down. Itachi placed his hand on the Jinchuuriki's back. Sasuke's hate for Senju Clan members was a lot more intense than Itachi's. He was actually surprised Sasuke didn't pounce on the blonde the second he heard that she was a Senju.

To move things away from Fuu, Itachi tried to get Hoshiko to speak but the man looked like he was on the verge of tears too, "Hoshiko, are you okay?"

He grinned with tears in his eyes, "Yeah, it's just… she said she considers us family, I haven't been a part of a family since I was six. The Land of Fire Facility forced my old family to let go of me when I was a child because they heard about my special abilities, so it's good to be considered as part of a family again," he sighed to calm himself down, "Sometimes I just miss my family, you know."

"We're gonna be passing through the Land of Frost anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to stop and go see them," Fuu said.

Hoshiko thought about it, "Yeah… I'm sure we could," he smirked.

Fuu mirrored him.

"I'm sure my family would love to meet your family," Hanabi laughed.

"Have you met our family, knowing them they'd kill any family if they knew you had some weird Kekkei Genkai," Hinata said.

"Oh no, it's not a Kekkei Genkai," Hoshiko explained.

"Could we save it for the abilities question, it's literally one of the next questions," Itachi pleaded.

"Oh yeah," it was Hanabi's turn, "Well, my Main family just consists of Hinata and my dad, I don't really have much to say about them because I guess I fall into the minority of people who had pretty stable lives. After all, everyone treated me like a princess," Hanabi shrugged.

"Oh brother," Asuna rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Hanabi squinted.

"I didn't say anything."

"Moving on!" Kin was trapped between Hanabi and Asuna so the last thing she wanted was for the both of them to fight with her in the middle, "My family only consists of Naruto-kun and Tayu-chan. Naruto-kun's a very close personal friend, who I owe my life to, and Tayu-chan's been there for me since I first got to the Facility, so I owe her my sanity," she giggled.

"That's… beautiful," Naruto laughed.

"I think, as bad as Facilities are, for the most part, at least they feed you, supply you with clothing and allow you to meet outcasts just like you," Kin sighed.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ino's hair flipped, "You had your time to speak, it's my turn."

"Oh, there's two of you," Asuna mumbled.

"So, you see my family is the Land of Fire's greatest and most expensive family at the moment, the Yamanaka Main Family," everyone turned to Hinata, who shrugged. Ino was right, the richest clan in the Land of Fire at that moment was the Yamanaka Clan, but that was because they mass-produced men and sold them off to powerful clans. Although rich, power was more valuable in the Wastelands, which was why the Hyuuga Clan was still regarded as the most valuable family. The fact that every member of their clan was born with the Byakugan put its power above the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, the Senju Clan's willpower, the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu and the Yamanaka Clan's wealth. "My Main Family consists of just my dad and my mom, and since I'm an only child, all the money that they get is spent on me and what I like, I just love my family so much, you know."

"Interesting," Itachi nodded before quickly moving on to Asuna before Ino got the chance to carry on, "Asuna?"

"I hate my family's guts. They found out I had a Kekkei Genkai, so they sold me to the Land of Fire's Facility. I would kill any one of them if I had the chance," Asuna sighed.

"Oh wow," Itachi said.

"Yep… Facility kids have issues," Hoshiko scratched his chin.

"I could tell."

"Sasuke!"

"What? It was my turn anyway," the Uchiha grunted, "My only family is you, Itachi. You know how I feel about you."

"In my family it's just me, my mom and my aunts but we're… a lot more humble than Ino-pig's family, but it's so small. I've always wanted to expand my family, I've just never had anyone to expand it with, you know?" Sakura turned to Sasuke. The Uchiha ignored her gaze.

"Did she just call me a pig?" Ino lifted her head.

"Hinata?" Itachi acted quickly.

The Hyuuga Princess laughed awkwardly, "I… I can't speak about the Hyuuga Main Family, and I haven't met my future fiancé yet, and I don't know what he'll be like, so right now I don't really have a family. I'm… a little stuck."

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand. If looks could kill Tayuya would have struck Hinata dead at that moment, "We're your family now, dattebayo! You know, I'm also looking for my family, people of the Sanction said that my family didn't want me to be killed in the mass culling of the male population so they hid me away. But I know, if I discover a new and powerful jutsu, they'll know my name and they'll come back to find me," Naruto turned to Hinata, "But for now… you can be my family."

Tayuya's face lowered into a frown. Itachi turned to the redhead, who shook her head, "I'd rather not talk about my family."

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Okay… well, Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya grabbed Orochimaru and Roshi with one arm whilst wrapping his other arm around Tsunade's shoulder. He pulled them both closer and laughed, "I'm pretty sure I speak for all of us when I say, we're the only family we need. The four of us were all outcasts in our own ways, and now we're here, feeling more together than ever."

Itachi sighed, "Which is exactly how a team should feel, and that's exactly how our team _will_ feel after all these questions," he readjusted himself, "The third question is what are your goals… now we get a little more introspective."

"Goals?" Fuu asked.

"Yeah, like, what do you hope to get out of this team. Why do you need that one hundred million Ryo?" Itachi asked, "I'm going to use it to retire to the Rain Sanction with Shisui and, hopefully, Sasuke."

"You're still going through with this… 'escort mission'?" Fuu asked.

Itachi glared at her, "Of course I am, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't complete the escort mission," his eyes widened.

"Well I do… so, I think it'll be better if I don't share my goals, ssu."

"Honestly, we were just sent here by our Facility because they thought the two of us were the best candidates, both of our rewards will probably just be used to maintain the Facility," Hoshiko said while looking at Asuna, "I doubt we'll a cent."

"And the money will obviously be used to find more slaves, of course, thus furthering the cycle," she stared into empty space.

"I'll honestly just share it with Naruto-kun and Tayu-chan, one hundred million Ryo is just so much money, I can't imagine what I'd do with it," Kin giggled.

"One hundred million is such a small amount, I'm sure I'd just use to build my very own Yamanaka mansion, with muscular guards and five storeys," Ino thought aloud.

"Are we all just speaking randomly now, because I want to use that money to find a clan, I really feel like I'm deserving of a family I know I can permanently be surrounded by," Naruto said.

"What makes you think we're just going to let you walk out of here with the Hyuuga girls, huh?" Tsunade sat up.

"Calm down, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya felt the heat build up, "Hey, just ignore us, we're not part of this team."

"Okay, okay, wait, maybe goals are a little too touchy, maybe we should move on to weaknesses," Itachi said.

"No!" Asuna said firmly, "As a Facility Mercenary, the first thing you're told is to never let the enemy know your weaknesses!"

"I thought we were a family?" Kin said.

"Yeah, the Hyuuga Clan's weaknesses are a family secret, if I told you my secret, you could use it against any one of my family members," Hanabi said.

"Yeah, what are you trying to get at, Uchiha?" Tsunade roared.

"Ah, damn," Jiraiya couldn't contain her.

"There it is!" Sasuke jumped to his feet, throwing Sakura off, "I knew you were waiting for your moment to snap, you Senju swine!"

"I will rip those eyes out of their sockets, you red-eyed shit!"

"Honestly, what is your problem with me?" Ino turned to Asuna.

"Excuse me?!" Asuna unfolded her arms.

"Is it because I actually like my clan or is it because I'm rich? It's not my fault I was built into a beautiful home and you weren't!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Hoshiko tried to argue but his body gave out on him.

"Are you okay?" Hanabi grabbed Hoshiko's hand.

"Hanabi, hands off him," Hinata warned.

"You can't be telling me to take my hands off someone when you're an engaged woman sitting on another man's lap," Hanabi retorted.

"Preach, motherfucker!" Tayuya's face brightened.

"What?" Naruto was forced into the conversation.

"Oh no, things are going wrong," Itachi began sweating, "What do I do? What would Shisui do? Wait… okay, let's all calm down."

Sasuke leapt over the table and grabbed Tsunade by her collar, "What are you going to do? Your brother isn't around to lead you, what are you going to do?" the black flames spread across his face.

Orochimaru formed the tiger seal. The flames glowed before receding. The Uchiha's eyes widened as he collapsed onto his knees. Sasuke let out a hellacious cry as the flames receded. Pain shot through his body, "You're not going to use my power to harm my own teammate," Orochimaru said.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pushed Orochimaru, "Let him go!"

Oro hissed.

"You're going to get yourself hurt, little girl," Jiraiya stood between Orochimaru and Sakura.

Fuu looked at Kin. Kin glanced over at Naruto. The blonde nodded. Tayuya stopped arguing. Roshi looked at Naruto. They exhaled before taking a deep breath in at the same time.

Dense chakra flooded the room, leaving everyone short of breath. Dark red heavy chakra silenced the room.

Everyone turned to face Naruto. The red-eyed Jinchuuriki exhaled to stop the flow of Nine Tails Chakra. When he opened his eyes, they had reverted to their usual blueness, "Fuu wants to speak, dattebayo!"

"Am I the only one a little concerned at how quickly you're learning to use your Tailed Beast chakra?" Roshi asked aloud.

"I honestly think we're all just a little tense after all the fighting we just did, maybe we should end the game here, and just all go to sleep, ssu," the Jinchuuriki explained.

"Yes, we all fought so much in the span of two days, maybe we should rest for now and meet again tomorrow morning when our reserves have been replenished, please," Itachi sighed.

"I think that's a good idea," Jiraiya said, "I have some sake in the kitchen, if you need it to sleep, I'm willing to give you some."

"Fuck! Me! Please!" Tayuya yelled.

"What?" Naruto turned.

"Just pretend there was a comma between those three words," she cackled.

"I could also go for some," Hanabi admitted.

"Hanabi, you know father wouldn't want you to drink alcohol," Hinata scolded her younger sister.

"Yeah, and it's illegal in the Rain Sanction," Jiraiya added.

"What?" Hanabi asked.

"Excuse me?" Hoshiko said.

"What?" Naruto wondered.

"Oh yeah, most Sanctions lowered their age limits to twelve, but the Rain Sanction kept theirs at eighteen, Lord Pain is a very strict leader, drinking, living on your own, sex, representing yourself in court, buying erotica, hehehe, purchasing weapons, all that is restricted to people eighteen and older for as long as you're in the Rain Sanction. I'd go to jail for a _really_ long time if I gave you alcohol."

Hoshiko looked at Hinata who was staring daggers into his eyes, then he turned to Hanabi, then to Jiraiya, then to Hanabi's hand which had fallen onto his chest, "NOPE!" he threw himself off the couch and onto the wooden floor, "Don't touch me! Asuna, take me to the bathroom, I feel weird."

"What is wrong with you," Asuna dusted herself off as she got up off the bed.

"Naruto-kun, come drink with me," Tayuya pushed Hinata off the blonde before dragging him into the kitchen.

XXX

The rain continued to fall on the desolate and quiet Rain Sanction. A thick blanket of mist descended on the recovering Sanction as the clock neared midnight. Shisui Uchiha locked the door behind him as he re-entered his tiny home that was now covered in cracks, that he'd probably have to cover up later.

"Shisui Uchiha," someone said. The Uchiha turned nonchalantly to face the intruder. The humanoid was reading Shisui's Uchiha Book of Legends, but he was drowned in darkness so the Uchiha could only pick up a few features. Shisui had never seen the man before, but he knew exactly what he… it… was.

"Who the hell are you?" the curly-haired Uchiha asked before snakingly sliding his hand behind his back to grasp his tanto sword.

"You know exactly what I am, Shisui Uchiha, and you know that me being here confirms what you've been suspecting."

Shisui had already grabbed his tanto, "I'm not much for intimidation, so tell me what the hell you want and I won't cut you down where you stand."

"We're looking for Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru…"

"We?" Shisui activated his Sharingan to spot eight other figures waiting in the shadows, "Why?"

"So, you know where they are?"

"Why are you looking for them?"

"So, you know where they are?"

"There's no way in hell I'm telling you."

The man chuckled before stepping into the moonlight. The humanoid's skin stuck to its skull in the most inhumane manner ever. Its mouth was torn flesh with strands of skin loosely connecting its upper jaw to its lower jaw. When Shisui stared into its empty sockets, as dark as the abyss, he could do nothing but freeze. The creature was naked with ribs sticking out through the skin, razor-sharp claws and disproportionally elongated arms, "I was hoping you'd say that," the skin around its mouth tore, "Kill him!"

Shisui activated his Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sixteen deadly claws jumped out of the shadows.


	10. The Death God Comes

**Reviews**

 **OmegaRealism:** I think out of the main twelve characters, Hinata's had the least development time so far, so I'm not sure where you got the Hinata fanboy point from.

 **Guest (Ch9):** Exactly, and yes, Hinata does know she's going to die but the others don't know that she knows. You'll find out who Ino likes soon.

 **Biginferno:** She definitely should, all the signs point to her being a perfect match for Naruto after all.

 **Thecla:** Thank you and yes, some of the OCs are currently more forgettable but as you said with so many characters it'll take some time for every character to be more notable and rememberable. Yes, Naruto doesn't know that he's an Uzumaki, like a lot of people he currently has no clan.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Ten: The Death God Comes**

XXX

 _October, 14._

"I… Itachi-kun."

A dim ray of sunlight shone through one of the windows and hit Shisui's face. Bathing the bloodied young man's cold skin in warm light. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light. It'd been a while since he'd seen the sun. The rain finally stopped. The smell of damp earth tickled his nostrils as a stream of blood ran down his cheek and dripped from his chin onto the body of mutant. It was Sunday. Every Sunday, at eight in the morning, the rain falling on the Rain Sanction would cease, and like clockwork, it had stopped again.

"I'm alive," Shisui deactivated his Sharingan. He was surrounded by three disfigured humanoid corpses. His eyes blurred as his tanto fell onto the floorboards. The Uchiha had pulled out Kotoamatsukami as a last resort. He used it to on the creatures' leader to make it believe that he'd told it where Sages were. Luckily, it worked and the leader commanded its army to rush out of the Sanction and into the forests to the west. The monsters were fast though, Shisui knew by the end of the week, they'd have reached the Great Wall, and the Genjutsu would wear off. The clock was racing. The Death God knew Hinata was going to be sacrificed soon, they were on the homestretch now, "barely… I have to tell Itachi."

One of the humanoids flinched. Shisui kicked it through the window, shining more light into the dark building. The curly-haired Uchiha collapsed, "Itachi," he groaned staring at his hand.

XXX

"Hey," someone called softly. Naruto groaned as a voice tried to wake him up, "Hey, wake up."

"Tayu-chan?" Naruto whispered with his face in his arms.

A smack on the back of the head woke him up instantly. He stared into his assailant's black eyes, "Do I look like the redhead, you blonde idiot?" the blonde didn't expect to be woken up by a black-eyed, white-haired man.

"Jiraiya?" the blonde moaned, "What time is it?"

"Shush, get dressed," with most of his clothing torn in the fight, Naruto had fallen asleep in just a pair of shorts. As he regained full consciousness, goose bumps welled up on his skin. The Sanction was still as cold as it was last night.

"Why?"

"Don't say anything, just follow me," Naruto threw on a spare orange and black jumpsuit and made his way downstairs, making sure he didn't wake up any of his teammates who were spread across the rooms and the living room. He closed the door, exiting the house and exposing his body to cold and moist air. The rain had stopped, but the mist was still thick and the scent was still strong.

"Why are we out here, Jiraiya?"

"It's Jiraiya-Sensei for now, or at least, Jiraiya-Sama," the white-haired man threw a scroll. Naruto caught it, "Rotation. Power. Containment," Jiraiya smirked.

"What?" Naruto unrolled the scroll to reveal the words 'rotation', 'power' and 'containment', surrounded by smaller instructions that Naruto was too exhausted to read, "What does that mean?"

"You tell me. What do those three aspects have in common?"

"Rotation? Power? Containment?" the whiskered mercenary thought about it, _"Kurama?"_

" _ **I've helped you enough for one lifetime, let me rest, brat."**_

Jiraiya held his right hand out before channelling chakra to his palm, "Rotation, spinning the chakra in multiple directions at once," he explained as Naruto felt the air thicken as chakra circulated above the man's hand, "Power, increase the amount of chakra you can release in one go," veins welled up on the older man's hand as he concluded, "Containment, combine the first two steps and compress it into a ball," his fingers curled slightly as the jutsu formed over his palm.

"That's…" Naruto's eyes widened. He recalled being struck in the chest by that same technique. The power, the pressure, the energy output, it was amazing. The whole earth trembled as Jiraiya wrapped his left hand around his right wrist to help contain the technique.

"Rotation. Power. Containment. All three of these can be done to chakra, transforming it into a technique only two people in the Wastelands know about… the Rasengan."

"The… the Rasengan?" Naruto couldn't blink, he couldn't take his eyes away from the technique. It was so beautiful to him, the smooth orb surrounding hundreds of small streams of chakra that rotated in every single direction, "Are you… are you going to teach me that?"

"That depends," Jiraiya contained the technique, dispelling it, "How's your chakra control?"

"Shit," Naruto grunted, "Not that great, dattebayo."

Jiraiya reached into his back pocket, "Then you'll need this," he threw a water balloon at the blonde. Luckily, he caught it without popping it, "We'll separate the learning process into three steps, those three steps you see on the scroll. For rotation, you'll need to release chakra and quickly spin it, so that it'll churn the water in the water balloon until it pops."

Naruto looked at his hands, "Pop a water balloon with my chakra?" he thought about it before looking back up into Jiraiya's eyes, "Wait… why are you teaching me such a powerful technique? I mean, we hardly know each other."

Jiraiya paused. He stared into the mist and sighed, "Tsunade plans on kicking you all out by ten a.m., and I feel like I owe you a great deal, I see potential in you Naruto, one day you'll become a great mercenary."

"Owe me a great deal… but I hardly-," Naruto paused when he saw a shadow appear at the door.

"Hold the fuck up," a voice yelled as it approached, "There's no fucking way this brat is getting extra training without me!"

"Shush! We're not even supposed to be out here," Jiraiya tried to quieten the fiery redhead down. Tayuya placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. She turned to Naruto, then back to Jiraiya.

"Give me a water balloon and I'll shut up."

"I don't have to train you in any way, go back to sleep," Jiraiya argued.

"It would suck if the blonde bimbo with the big boobs had to wake up and find out you were training us, wouldn't it?"

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if she learned the jutsu too, Jiraiya, dattebayo!"

"Quieten down!" Jiraiya silenced Naruto, before turning to Tayuya, "You're irritating," he muttered as he threw a water balloon at her. _"Just like another redhead I knew."_ The white-haired mercenary watched as the hot-headed redhead rushed over to the blonde's side. His blue eyes met her hazel pair, and they both smiled as they tried to churn water together. Jiraiya sighed.

XXX

Sasori and Deidara landed their clay birds a couple of metres away from the beautiful two-storey cottage hidden behind thick foliage. As they approached, Deidara looked up at the surrounding trees. They tangled around each other and journeyed into cracks laced around the building.

"Open the door," Sasori demanded as they got closer to the door.

"You have hands now, un."

"But you lost the battle."

"I know, you told me that a hundred times on our way back, un."

"Well maybe if we were returning with two Hyuuga Princesses, I wouldn't be saying anything!"

Shinji opened the door, "Hello?"

"Yes! Yes, you would be saying something, because you're always saying something, un! Maybe if one of those guys kicked your ass instead of letting you go; you would have finally shut up!" Deidara yelled.

"Oh no, they're fighting again," Shinji rushed back into the house.

"How about we end this argument right here, before you run away crying again," Sasori walked away.

Deidara grabbed his arm. Sasori glared at the blonde, "NO!"

"What?"

"I'm not crying, un, and you're not getting off that easy."

"Me? Get off easy? I've been dragging your ass around since the beginning, I told Lord Pain that you'll probably die young and it won't be my fault when you do," Sasori tried to pull away but Deidara's grip was actually pretty strong.

"If you don't care about me, un, then why didn't you just let me die back there, Sasori-Sensei?"

"Don't fucking call me Sensei, it makes me sound old and shit, I made this body to avoid that same fate," Sasori looked around, "From now on you call me Sasori no Danna."

"Make me!" Deidara brow furrowed.

Sasori glared.

"You could cut the sexual tension between these two with a sword."

Sasori and Deidara turned together. Kisame chuckled as he loomed over Kagerou and Shinji. The swordsman threw his sword over his shoulder and shrugged. Sasori tore his arm away from his blonde student and dusted himself off.

"I swear, they were fighting when I last saw them," Shinji whined.

"Like a married couple… just that one of them is twenty and the other is probably a hundred and twenty," Kagerou sheathed his sword.

"Fuck you, Kagerou" Sasori walked past the white-haired mercenary.

"It's been a while since we've seen the real you, Sasori."

"Kagerou?" Deidara stopped in front of him, "I've never been so confused in my life."

He raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

"Are you a guy, un?"

"Fuck you! You're one to talk," Kagerou flipped Deidara's bang before turning away and walking into the building. He slammed the door behind him.

"Yeah, that's how he reacted to us too," Kisame turned with Shinji, "It doesn't help that you just look like a woman, but you act like one too!"

XXX

"Bitch!" Tayuya yelled as her balloon popped.

The bang woke Jiraiya up, "Huh?"

"I did it, I did it, motherfucker," the redhead laughed in the blonde's face. Naruto shoved his water balloon in Tayuya's mouth to shut her up. She popped it between her teeth. The water trickled down her chin and dripped off onto her shirt, "Clean my shirt!" she demanded.

"Hell no, dattebayo," Naruto stepped back. Tayuya grabbed him by the back of the head, "Tayu-ch?" she forced his face into her chest.

"Clean it with your tongue!"

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Naruto and Tayuya both paused to analyse the situation. Tayuya looked down and noticed that the wetness of her shirt had mixed with the coldness of the air, erecting her nipples. Naruto's face was between her B-cup breasts. The blonde looked up into her eyes. Her face heated up as she realised, she'd just yelled at him to lick her breasts clean. Naruto's face grew redder and redder as Tayuya gripped his blonde curls.

"This is awkward," Naruto stated the obvious. Tayuya let go of Naruto, allowing him to stand up straight.

"Yeah, very… very awkward, let's not do that again," Tayuya dropped her head.

"Whatever, I don't have time to analyse what just happened. Naruto, you can carry on trying to churn water. Tayuya, you get to move on to the next step. Power," Jiraiya placed a rubber ball in the redhead's hand, "Use chakra to pop this."

"What?" Tayuya screamed.

"Do you ever shut up?" Jiraiya groaned. She resisted the urge to punch him in the gut, "You have amazing chakra control, I'll admit, but power is a lot harder than rotation."

A second Naruto appeared next to the original mercenary, "Oi, help me rotate this, dattebayo," Naruto ordered.

"Sure thing, chief," the clone picked up a water balloon and tried to swirl the chakra.

Jiraiya paused, "Are you using a clone to learn a jutsu?"

"Yeah, I found out that whenever my clone disappears, I end up learning the things he learned, so if you can pop that balloon, you're getting a raise."

"I'm not getting paid at all," the clone realised.

"Welcome to the Wastelands."

"I bet you I can pop my rubber ball before you pop your water balloon," Tayuya smirked.

"Are you a Genjutsu specialist?" Jiraiya asked her.

Tayuya grinned, "Fuck yeah I am, you white-haired sack of shit!"

"That explains why your chakra control is so precise, it'll still take a while for you to pop the ball though," Jiraiya turned to walk away.

"Bet!" Tayuya grinned.

XXX

"I'm already fucking bored," Tayuya dropped the ball and collapsed as the chakra drained from her body, "How long have we been doing this?"

One of Naruto's seventeen clones collapsed too, dropping his water balloon as he turned to clouds, "Three hours, dattebayo. Something tells me we're not going to learn this jutsu."

" _You're_ not going to learn this jutsu," Tayuya fell onto her back, "I've already got rotation down, I just need to master power and I'm good."

One of the clones filled Tayuya's rubber ball with so much chakra that it burst in seconds, "How are you struggling with this?" the clone laughed. He picked up another ball and filled that ball with enough chakra to pop it too, "How did you rotate chakra without adding power?"

"How do you add power without being precise about?" Tayuya propped herself up. Jiraiya walked up to the duo as the mist began to clear. He'd heard a pop and thought Tayuya was ready to move on to the next step, but the remnants of two rubber balls were hanging from Naruto's palms.

"That's a conundrum," Jiraiya laughed, "Usually people are better at rotating than they are at adding power."

"You heard that, I'm special," Naruto grinned. Tayuya blushed as she picked up a water balloon. She spun the chakra as she flung it at Naruto, popping it in mid-air. Naruto's jumpsuit got soaked, "Oi!"

"Don't act like you didn't deserve it," Tayuya folded her arms.

Naruto laughed before looking up at Jiraiya. The white-haired man was standing over them with a finger on his chin, "What's on your mind, old man?" Jiraiya glared at the blonde brat.

"I'm actually a little surprised that the both of you learned steps of the Rasengan so quickly. I'm trying to think of a way to convince Tsunade-hime to allow you guys to stay for another week, because in a week's time, I'm sure you'd have this jutsu down, but I'm drawing blanks," Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly, "Maybe you could try to convince her?"

Tayuya punched her open palm, "We could convince her by pummelling the shit outta her!"

"Excuse me?!" Naruto and Tayuya froze as a shadow loomed over them, "You're going to what?"

"N-nothing, ma'am," Naruto turned to face the buxom blonde.

Tayuya turned, "We're gonna beat the shit outta you!"

"Damn it, dattebayo!"

"Really now?" Tsunade grinned. She grabbed both of them by the collars and lifted the young adults off the ground, "Well, why don't you then, two-on-one, I win, you leave, you win, you stay another week."

Jiraiya approached with hands up, trying to calm Tsunade down by lowering the duo, "Hey, hey, I don't think this is-,"

"Challenge accepted!" Tayuya kicked the woman in the gut.

"What's going on?" Itachi rushed up to the group with Sasuke, Hinata, Hanabi, Roshi and Orochimaru.

"These brats," Tsunade lifted them higher. Naruto kicked the air. Tayuya braced herself. Tsunade flung Naruto into a wall before throwing Tayuya into a tree, "… are about to get their asses kicked!"

The blonde pulled himself out of the wall and fell onto the dewed grass. He quickly got up, "You've gone and done it now," Naruto got on all-fours. _"Kurama!"_

" _ **You got yourself in this mess, runt. I'm not doing shit!"**_ the beast cackled before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Naruto looked up at the Senju woman. Tayuya pushed herself off the tree. Naruto pushed himself off the grass. Naruto rushed around Itachi, Sasuke and Jiraiya. They attacked together.

"Two fingers," Tsunade promised. She blocked both their kicks with her index fingers.

"Ah shit, step back," Jiraiya warned the others.

Tsunade flipped the both over in mid-air before dropping them into the earth. Naruto got up and tripped her. She fell onto her back. He punched her jaw. She flicked him into another tree. Tayuya grabbed the blonde's neck. Tsunade thrust her finger into Tayuya's stomach. The redhead coughed up a ton of blood.

Naruto tried to stand.

Tsunade shunshined up to him.

"Heaven's Kick of Pain!" Naruto got levelled.

Tayuya wrapped her arms around Tsunade's neck. The older woman threw Tayuya through a tree. The large timber collapsed, almost crushing her legs. Tayuya rolled away and breathed. Naruto took a moment to breathe too. Tsunade grabbed his neck. Naruto formed a cross with his fingers.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, there were a hundred Naruto clones surrounding the Senju. Tsunade looked around.

"It doesn't matter, if I hurt you, they all disappear!" Tsunade flung Naruto. A clone caught him mid-air.

"Attack!" they all charged.

Tsunade dispelled a few with her finger. Four clones slid under her. They kicked her up.

"NA!"

She wasn't high enough. The four clones each grabbed two more clones and threw them up. Eight more clones kicked Tsunade in the back, raising her higher into the air.

"RU!"

They needed one more hit. The eight clones grabbed two clones each and threw them higher. Sixteen clones rose into the air with kicks ready. Tsunade opened her eyes. She felt all sixteen sandals crack her spine.

"TO!"

"You ready, chief?" a clone asked.

"Throw me!" Naruto yelled. He was launched into the air. Tsunade blinked. Her forehead diamond lit up.

"Barrage!" Naruto flipped mid-flight and heel-kicked Tsunade. Dropping her, "You like it, dattebayo? I call it Naruto Barrage!" the knuckleheaded mercenary landed with a foxy grin on his face.

Tayuya slowly crawled to her feet, "Nice one, Naruto-kun," she punched his fist.

Tsunade grabbed their throats, squeezed the life out of them and lifted them again. Naruto's eyes widened. Tayuya choked.

"It ends here!" she decided. She threw Tayuya first. The redhead hit the earth and dug a crater into the earth, tearing her clothes as she ground her back against the dirt. Next, she turned and chucked Naruto, forming another crater. The orange mercenary rolled out of the crater into the metal fence, broke through the fence, and landed in a puddle on the concrete floor.

"What the hell? Tsunade!" Jiraiya screamed.

"I actually enjoyed it," Orochimaru chuckled. Itachi rushed to help Tayuya out.

"Trust in a Senju swine to take a little sparring match and blow it out of proportion," Sasuke spat on the floor.

Naruto reached out and grabbed onto the metal fence's bars. Roshi squinted expecting Naruto to be drenched in Nine Tails Chakra but, "Nothing." The blonde broke through the fence and groggily approached Senju. The shadow clones exploded around Tsunade so she first turned her attention to the Uchiha.

"If you think that that was too much, then you don't know what out of proportion means."

Sasuke growled.

Naruto got onto all-fours.

Still nothing.

Tsunade returned her attention to the blonde, "I'm showing you mercy, stay down!" she demanded. Naruto lifted himself to his feet. He had a cut above his left eye so prevent blood from getting in there he closed it, allowing the thick crimson liquid to trickle his eye off his chin. The blonde looked up. He sighed. He approached her, "You're not just getting back up, but you're coming right at me again? What's wrong with you?"

Tayuya groggily got up to when she noticed Naruto walk past her, "No," Itachi pushed her down, "I'm not letting you-," the redhead shoved him away. She stood up.

"I hit harder than you, and I heal faster than you. What do you want me to do kill you?" Tsunade asked. Naruto didn't stop, "Stay down!" she backhanded him into the dirt.

Naruto grabbed her ankle. She froze. Tayuya stopped. Naruto clawed his way up the blonde's leg, reached her hips and used her wide waist to pull himself to his feet, leaving a trail of blood along her pants.

"My name is Naruto of no clan, until I find my clan and fight alongside my brothers and sisters than I'll continue to get up. If you rip my arms off, I'll kick you to death. If you rip my legs off, I'll bite you to death. If you rip my head off, I'll stare you to death. If you gouge my eyes out, I'll curse you from beyond the grave. Even if you were to tear me to shreds at this moment, nothing would stop me from achieving my goals, because I made a promise to myself, and I never go back on my word," the bloodied blonde stared into Tsunade's eyes. Her brown eyes widened as the bloodied mercenary hugged the woman to remain on his feet, "Because that's not the Naruto way, 'ttebayo."

Jiraiya plucked Naruto away and threw the blonde onto his back as he passed out. He walked over to Tayuya, who fought him at first, but she eventually gave up and collapsed onto the older man's shoulder. Jiraiya carried both of them into the small house.

"When they heal up, I want all of you out, we're keeping the Hyuuga Princesses," Tsunade said. Itachi walked up to the blonde woman. He held his hand out to stop her.

"There's no way you're doing that."

"Look who grew some balls, what makes you think you can stop me?" Tsunade asked. Itachi activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, "Shit," before she could even comprehend it, she was in Itachi's Genjutsu World.

"We were chosen by the Hyuuga Clan specifically to carry out this mission, we're going to complete this task and we're going to get that prize money," Itachi said.

"You realise the Land of Lightning plans of sacrificing the poor girl, right?"

Itachi nodded, "I know."

"Do they know?" Tsunade asked. Itachi remained silent, "How do you expect me to trust you with these princesses, when I can't trust you to tell your own teammates the truth about their fate?"

"I planned on telling them when I believed I'd made up my mind."

"Made up your mind on what? Just don't sacrifice her! The answer is that easy!"

"Do you know what happens when you don't sacrifice Hinata-hime?"

"What happens?" Tsunade asked.

"Wait, how do you even know about the sacrifice? It's an Uchiha legend."

"Every Uchiha legend has a Senju counterpart. In our legends, the Uchiha try to sacrifice the most powerful woman in the world to summon a legion of monsters and the Senju must protect her from your armies. As far as I know, I'm just doing what's right."

"You couldn't be more wrong," Itachi said, "This has nothing to do with Uchiha and Senju warfare, we're up against something much bigger."

"And that is?" Tsunade asked.

"I… I can't say it."

"Gods," Shisui entered the Genjutsu World and walked up to the duo.

"How'd you get in here?" Tsunade asked.

"I cast my own Genjutsu and reflected it off of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan, so technically we've both got you in a Genjutsu at the moment," Shisui grinned.

"I still don't believe in this whole god thing," Itachi growled.

"Well, I'll have you know the Death God's Monsters attacked me," Shisui grinned, "This is just my Genjutsu avatar, in the real world, I'm in a lot of pain."

"Then we'll need to heal you instantly," Itachi said.

"Death God's Monsters? What's going on?" Tsunade asked.

"Time is running out, I sent the monsters west, you'll be moving east, you'll need to move as quickly as possible."

"Will you be joining us?" Itachi asked

"I can't. Eventually, they'll hit the Great Wall and the Kotoamatsukami I cast on them will wear off, but they'll still believe the princesses are here in the Rain Sanction. I need to stay here and recharge my eyes so that when they return, the five of us can fight them together and distract them."

"So, you're onboard with sacrificing the poor girl?" Tsunade's fist clenched.

"Oh no, I've entrusted Itachi with a fate much riskier than sacrificing the young woman. Itachi and his group will have to kill the Death God," Itachi stared at his older brother but didn't say anything, "I know you don't believe in all these legends and such, but you'll be going up against a god, Itachi, and I know you have it in you to save the lives of millions."

"Wait," Tsunade looked around, "Did you say a god. Okay, let's stop for a second and pretend a god, of all things, could come down from wherever gods live and come to the Wastelands. Why would he come here and why would he want to fight humans?"

"The Uchiha myths and legends say so, and I'd much rather be safe than sorry."

"Why is he going east?"

"The shrine where they plan on sacrificing Hinata can also be used to summon the Death God. If the Death God loses or dies, his monsters will return to the underworld with him."

Tsunade turned to Itachi, "Are you listening to him?" she turned back to Shisui, "Do you know what a god is, if one did come down to earth what's stopping it from just killing him?"

"If the myths and legends are true, then a god would never cheat when challenged."

"You're basing all you've got on books?"

"Books and faith."

"And as you saw," Itachi finally spoke up, "When one has faith, they can do anything…"

"I won't be a part of this," Tsunade sighed.

"You don't have to be," Itachi explained, "Let us take Hinata-hime east, and you'll never hear from us again."

"…" Tsunade groaned, "Take her, take them both."

"Good," Shisui closed his eyes and vanished.

"You won't regret it," Itachi promised. He closed his eyes. Dispelling the Genjutsu.

The three of them looked at each other as the cold Rain Sanction breeze blew through the Sages' backyard. Shisui collapsed from chakra deprivation.

"I'll heal him, and I'll heal the two inside," Tsunade helped the curly-haired Uchiha to his feet, "and then you can continue on your way."

"Thank you, ma'am."

XXX

" **Tayuya…"**

"Huh?" the redhead opened her eyes to a pitch-black room, "Where… where am I?"

" **You're in my mind."**

"Kokuou?"

" **No. I'm far more powerful than her."**

"And wh… who are you?"

"… **I am a bit of everything that lives. You worry about me in the deepest crevasses of your mind. I've been haunting your brain for days now. The dreams you dream of death and the dreams you dream of life, are all possibilities. Tayuya, I am the one who kills Naruto if you don't bring me Hinata."**

"What the fuck? If this is some joke, then I'll break both of your legs if you don't shut up!"

" **I'm sorry, beautiful little Tayuya-chan… but this is no joke. They took what I valued most, so I need the blood of Hinata Hyuuga to be sprinkled on my shrine."**

"Sprinkled on… what the fuck? I… I thought Hinata was just going to get married."

" **That's what they do. The humans. They're always LYING! Just like their gods, so please, just bring her to my shrine and the ones you value will be safe."**

Tayuya slowly looked out into the darkness. A pair of red eyes stared back at her, "Why did you choose me?"

" **I'm currently at my weakest, so I can only control the minds of the weak-willed."**

"Did you just fucking call me weak-willed?"

" **When someone mind is being haunted by regret and fear, they're always at their weakest."**

XXX

Tayuya opened her eyes a little. Jiraiya had placed both her and Naruto on a bed. The hazel-eyed mercenary teared up as she watched Naruto, in his bruised condition, sleep so peacefully. She painstakingly lifted her right arm and placed her hand on his cheek to feel the slight indentations that were his whiskers.

"Naruto-kun… I will protect you," her tears dripped off her face onto the bed sheets, "You saved my life and, no matter what, I will save yours."


	11. No Clan! No Jutsu! No Value!

**Reviews**

 **Guest:** Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

 **Aleksej k:** Good to hear you're enjoying the story enough to binge-read it, and I hope you'll continue to read.

 **Ok:** Thank you for reviewing and to answer some of your concerns. The reason it appears Sasuke's abilities are enhanced is not because I'm an Uchiha dickrider but because in the beginning, Sasuke was actually stronger than Naruto, because as mentioned before, Sasuke's been trained by his clan to fight while Naruto's been a scavenger raised in a Sanction, naturally, Naruto would start out weaker. In fact, besides probably Itachi, every character isn't as strong as they are through most of the series. Naruto doesn't have Rasengan or Sage Mode yet, Sakura doesn't have her Hundreds Healing Seal, Tayuya can't quite use her flute to summon Doki and even Sasuke doesn't have the Mangekyou Sharingan yet. Also, Sasuke is by no means reasonable in this story, in fact, he's the biggest reason there's no team cohesion, he's constantly causing problems.

About the pairings, the only pairing that's been heavily hinted so far is Naruto and Tayuya, the other characters only met less than a weak ago, they're still trying to get a feel for each other, Sakura is trying to get Sasuke to notice her, Sasuke uses Sakura because she's a medic and Hoshiko and Hanabi aren't a thing, they only spent one day together. None of the pairings should feel rushed yet, because there haven't been any actual pairings yet. The main focus of the first few chapters was actually fighting, you'll notice we're not even halfway through yet, and there's already been three different battles, the sit-down they had together was the first time they've actually shown any personality or emotional team-building.

And I'm not sure what you mean by dattebayo, that is, after all, Naruto's trademark catchphrase, it's not meant to be bashing Naruto in any way. Just like how Fuu says "ssu" at the end of her sentences and Sakura says "Shannaro" when she's angry. And yes, they are travelling together, but that doesn't mean they'll trust each other instantly. Hopefully, these criticisms didn't discourage you from reading on though.

 **Biginferno:** True, she definitely isn't in her right frame of mind at the moment.

 **Thecla:** I'd actually never even played FFX so I had to look up the storyline after reading your review, I notice that there are one or two similarities, but no, any similarities between this story and FFX are just coincidences.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Eleven: No Clan! No Jutsu! No Value!**

XXX

Itachi adjusted his backpack before turning to face his teammates. He scanned the room to make sure they were all there. Fuu, Kin and Ino were standing in a group making sure all their things were in order. Hanabi and Hinata were having a friendly discussion in the corner. Sasuke was talking to Orochimaru. Tsunade was handing a couple of tools to Sakura. Naruto and Tayuya were accepting a scroll from Jiraiya. Asuna was shoving her old clothes into Hoshiko's backpack. Roshi and Shisui walked up to the Uchiha.

"I see you managed to get Tsunade to change her mind," Roshi folded his arms as he stood on one side of Itachi. Shisui stood on the other.

"It was a bit of a challenge, but yeah," Itachi sighed, "Hey, Roshi. You, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru… how long did it take you guys to start… working together?"

"Are you still stuck on that?" Shisui raised an eyebrow.

"The exercises didn't work. Everyone just ended up fighting."

"That's because you tried to cram it into one night," Shisui explained, "Think about it, there's only one other Uchiha in this room. Everyone else is either a Facility subject, a Sanction scavenger or a lesser class mercenary. You have what it takes to lead this team, Itachi-kun, you just need to let it happen."

"Did someone say lead this team?" Hoshiko asked walking up to the trio with Asuna, "Don't worry, Itachi, it's okay if you can't take charge like I can."

"How have you not gotten your ass kicked yet?" Asuna sighed.

Hinata and Hanabi stood up and began approaching. Fuu, Kin and Ino lifted their backpacks onto their shoulders and walked over to the door.

Orochimaru took Sasuke's sword away from him, leaving the Uchiha with the Kusanagi Sword, "I see a young me in your eyes," the Snake Sage hissed. He placed his hand on Sasuke's neck, covering his Curse Mark, "You not only wielded my sword with such ease, but you've managed to resist the pain of my bite for so long. I think from what I've seen I can safely say you're deserving of my blade, but just know, that when it's time for me to ask for a favour, I won't take no for an answer." The Uchiha smirked. Tsunade let Sakura walk into the group as Jiraiya walked over to the group with Naruto and Tayuya.

"Are we all ready?" Itachi asked.

"Y-Yeah, let's get moving to the Land of Lightning," Hinata said. Itachi was a little surprised that Hinata, of all people, said that. If only she knew what lay ahead.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Hanabi yelled.

XXX

"My feet are so tired," Hanabi complained as the group marched through the empty plains of the Land of Grass. The sun was sitting steadily behind the mountain range in the distance. The wind blew through the open plain, turning hot humid air into a cold humid breeze, "It's cold," she complained again.

"Hanabi!" Hinata warned. The Hyuuga Heiress shut up.

"I bet you're not cold, Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled.

"Huh? Yeah, probably," the Uchiha didn't look back.

"Why don't we just rest?" Hanabi complained.

"This isn't a Sanction and we're not hidden by trees, we're out in the Wastelands, if we make a fire right now, we'll be killed in seconds," Fuu answered.

"That, and a war recently broke out between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth, the Land of Grass hired the Senju Clan and the Land of Earth hired the Uchiha Clan, we must be prepared to run into conflict," Itachi explained

"If I must fight my own brothers and sisters, then I will," Sasuke growled.

"Now that I think about it, I'm actually a little tired too, when is the next Sanction coming up?" Kin asked.

"The next Sanction is," Ino pulled her map out, "… a Yamanaka Household! Yay! We can rest there."

"How far away is it?" Kin asked.

Ino analysed the map, "… No idea."

Asuna snatched it from her, "… That's got to be at least two days away at this pace," she realised, "What are the X's?"

"Private Sanctions."

"You didn't bother marking the government-funded Sanctions?" Asuna asked.

"Ew, I could never stay in a public Sanction."

"Public Sanctions… actually, come to think of it, if I'm not wrong there's a Sanction on the opposite side of those mountains," Fuu tried to use her mental map of the region surrounding the Land of Waterfalls. Admittedly, she never visited the Land of Grass that often, but she knew her way around it, that's for sure.

"Ew, I said no public Sanctions."

"We're going to have to rest sooner or later," Fuu told the platinum blonde.

"Itachi," Sasuke noted

"Yeah."

"What?" Fuu looked up.

"As expected, there's some fighting going on in the hills," Itachi pointed at the Rolling Hills. The Rolling Hills was a Land of Grass landmark that was made up of a thousand hills squeezed between the plains and the mountains. Itachi knew they could use the tall grass to hide and sneak around the fighters, but if they got caught, they'd have to be prepared to fight.

"What's the plan?" Fuu queried.

"I'll just run in there and take them all out," Hoshiko dropped his backpack. Asuna grabbed his shirt.

"And now you know why you're not the leader."

"That sounds like a good plan to me, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.

"Fuck yeah, let's get in there!" Tayuya punched the air.

"If those are Uchiha and Senju mercenaries, then there's probably more fighting within the actual hills, we'll have to sneak past them."

"Naruto's wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, does he look like someone who can sneak?" Hanabi raised an eyebrow.

"Don't judge Naruto, Hanabi," Hinata scolded her younger sister.

"Aw, thanks Hinata-hime," Naruto said.

"Just call me, Hina-chan."

Tayuya looked back, _"The more I think about it, the more I wanna sacrifice you, you skank."_

"Shush," Itachi stopped. Everyone paused behind him, "Get down," they all sunk into the grass that was around waist-height. Itachi activated his Sharingan, "If something breaks out, make sure Hinata and Hanabi get to the other side. Prepare to fight."

"Hell yeah," Hoshiko dropped his goggles over his eyes. Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Asuna looked around. Naruto turned to Tayuya. Tayuya looked back and nodded. Fuu channelled Choumei's chakra. Kin grabbed three needles from her pouch. Sakura backed up a little. Ino reversed with her.

"Die, Senju swine!" someone took a sword to the chest and collapsed right in front of the group. Hinata was about to scream, but Hanabi covered her mouth. The man screamed in pain before trying to pull the sword from his chest. An Uchiha stepped on the sword, drilling it deeper into the man's chest. Cracking ribs. Puncturing organs. The Uchiha man saw movement as Hinata flinched, "What the-?"

Three shuriken drilled into his stomach, tearing his skin and spilling his intestines out onto the tall grass. Itachi instructed everyone to crawl. Hinata shook her head. Sasuke looked back.

"Drag her!" he whispered.

Tayuya was the closest to the Hyuuga Princess, "No fucking way!" she yelled

"Damn it," Itachi dropped his head. Stealth was out the window.

"What was that?" an Uchiha rushed over to the group. Itachi stood up and threw a single kunai to killed the man before dropping into the grass.

"I think we're safe," Itachi sighed. A momentary silence followed as something flew towards the crew. A kunai landed in the middle of the group. The exploding tag attached to it lit up, "Shit!"

Hoshiko grabbed the kunai. He zipped away. He returned. The explosion killed a few mercenaries on the other side of the hill, "I cleared the way for us," he said before zipping away again.

"Damn it, let's just charge through this," Sasuke pulled his new Kusanagi out. He charged, "We'll only stop when we get to the mountain range!"

A large spotted buck galloped over to the group, "Hop on," Asuna told the Hyuuga Princesses before jumping on the deer's back. Hanabi and Hinata joined, "Hold on tightly!"

Fuu grew a pair of wings, and with Sakura in one arm and Ino in the other, she took off.

Naruto acted as a running shield with Tayuya and Kin behind him.

Itachi created four shadow clones and used them as shields. He charged.

Hoshiko led the charge propelling himself through the battlefield. Sasuke was right behind him, deflecting shuriken with his new sword. A deer carrying Asuna, Hanabi and Hinata hopped left and right, dodging kunai knives as it hopped. Fuu fluttered over the battlefield with Ino and Sakura. Naruto blocked a shuriken or two with his kunai knife allowing Tayuya and Kin to run with him. Itachi made sure everyone stuck to the plan from behind.

The Uchiha was surprised when Sasuke diverted and started running to the left.

"Where the hell are you going?" Hoshiko asked, slowing down.

Itachi looked ahead, "No… no, Sasuke, don't!" the younger Uchiha had spotted a battle going on that aroused his attention. Itachi sped up to try and catch up to him.

"Where's everyone going?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, but let's join them!" Tayuya suggested. Naruto, Tayuya and Kin went left.

Asuna carried on straight, to avoid running into any battles. Fuu did the same with Sakura and Ino.

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon!" a wooden creature spawned from out of the hills. Hoshiko got caught by the giant beast as it emerged from the earth, tapping his legs, throwing him over a hill and into another mound of grass.

"What… the fuck?" he dabbed his lip to feel for blood.

"Grab on," Asuna held her hand out. She snatched the man as the deer leapt over him, "Hinata, what's going on?"

The princess activated her Byakugan and paused, "Sasuke's running towards a battle between… Lord Hashirama and Lord Madara," Hinata realised.

"Aw cool… throw me in that direction," Hoshiko pleaded.

"No, our mission is to get the princesses to safety."

"But we can't separate again," Hoshiko whined.

Neither Madara nor Hashirama saw Sasuke coming as he raced against the wood dragon at full speed. He hopped around the wooden creature before jumping at Madara. Hashirama, spotting him in the corner of his eyes and shifted the dragon's trajectory. It clattered into the Uchiha knocking him off his feet.

Madara hopped away to dodge the dragon and Sasuke, he landed on another hill. Hashirama turned to Sasuke. He spotted the Uchiha fan on the young man's shirt, "Wood Style: Wooden Prison," he held his hand out to trap the red-eyed mercenary, "I'm surprised one of your clansmen was dumb enough to attack me directly," Hashirama chuckled

Madara stared at Sasuke, "Who the hell are you?" the Uchiha Lord asked.

"You branded me a traitor! I'm here to fight you, Madara!" Sasuke yelled.

"But you seem like such a strong and relentless young fighter, as stupid as you are, why would I brand you a traitor?" Madara questioned.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, son of Fugaku and Mikoto, brother of Itachi U-."

"Oh, you're Itachi's brother. I remember you now. You refused to participate when we went to go massacre every boy in one of our clan raids… how disappointing," Madara cackled, "… How dare you disrupt one of the many great battles between Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju?" the older Uchiha asked.

"Stop feeling yourself," Hashirama chuckled as Itachi entered the picture.

"Please forgive us, Lord Madara, Lord Hashirama, my brother and I were just trying to pass through the battlefield and we ran into your battle, if we'd seen who we were running into we definitely would have turned and gone the other way," Itachi tried to apologise on his younger brother's behalf. Naruto, Tayuya and Kin joined.

Naruto felt it instantly. Both of them were just oozing chakra as they stood atop their separate hills. The blonde was a Jinchuuriki, but even he had never released this much chakra in one fight, "Whoa, who are these people?" Naruto gasped.

"You don't know the leaders of the Senju and Uchiha Clan?" Kin asked.

"I'm not part of a clan, I never bothered learning about them," Naruto shrugged, "The only clan I'll ever care about will be my own."

"Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha," Itachi said softly, "Widely acknowledged as the two most powerful mercenaries in the world."

"What is this?" Hashirama folded his arms whilst looking around. Madara shrugged.

"Do you want me to kill them so we can continue with our battle, Hashirama?" Madara knew that that statement would irritate the more relaxed Senju.

"Shut up!" the Uchiha cackled, irritating the Senju leader even more, "Just get out of here," Hashirama freed Sasuke expecting him to value his life enough to run away. Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and went straight for Madara.

"Who does this idiot think he is?" Madara asked.

"Sasuke! No!"

"This is for branding me an exile!" Sasuke yelled brandishing his sword.

Madara crossed his arms and lifted an index finger. The Uchiha released so much chakra pressure from just one raised finger that Sasuke's body froze mid-air as his muscles tightened. His body constricted and he landed, like a corpse, at Madara's feet. Sasuke was struggling to breathe. He clawed at the leader's feet begging for relief. Madara stared at his rival as he blasted Sasuke with more chakra pressure then he could handle.

"Madara!" Itachi distracted the Lord, allowing Sasuke to breathe. Sasuke leapt away and landed on another hilltop.

"The kid attacked me, why shouldn't I kill him," Madara stared at Sasuke. The young Uchiha made sure to avoid eye contact, "Get out of here, the next time I see you, refugees, I'll kill both of you and hang your corpses over your parents' doorframe."

Sasuke threw his left hand out to activate the Chidori. Itachi shunshined to the younger Uchiha's side and slapped the technique out of his hand. The violent ball of lightning crashed into a nearby hill, decimating it. Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and bent it backwards, ending the young man's episode of rage.

"Sasuke! Let's go," Itachi commanded.

XXX

Fuu landed on slightly charred grass. She placed Ino and Sakura on the earth before standing up to stare at the man standing between her and the mountains. The buck slowed its pace to a trot as it reached the Jinchuuriki. Asuna sighed.

"I hate how the strong people choose to challenge us whenever we're separated," she hopped off the deer.

"Maybe it's a sign that we should stop separating," Hoshiko lifted his goggles to his forehead. Hanabi and Hinata hopped off the deer. Asuna released it from her control. It hopped into the mountains. Hoshiko got a good look at his opponent, "Damn, this guy looks a lot like Sasuke."

"Who the hell are you?" Ino asked.

Sakura took the liberty of answering Ino's question. There was no arguing it, the man looked like a younger Madara mixed with an older Sasuke. He wore the traditional high-collared blue shirt with a long pair of grey pants. He had a sword at his waist and a shuriken pouch strapped to his leg. The man's red eyes bore holes into her soul, "You're… Izuna Uchiha."

"Correct," the man smirked, "My, my… I pity your kind, those born without the Sharingan. Allow me to end your suffering and collect the Hyuuga Princesses on behalf of the Uchiha Clan."

"Speaking of Sharingan, anyone know where the hell Itachi and Sasuke are," Asuna scanned the area.

"They're still on the battlefield with Lord Hashirama and Lord Madara," Hinata said.

"Well, then I guess the five of us will have to fight then," Fuu stepped forward.

"I'm a medic," Sakura explained taking a step back to join Hinata and Hanabi. Asuna took a step back too.

"Hey?" Hoshiko looked back.

"Do you see any animals around you?" Asuna asked, "I'm out of my element here."

"You always are," Hoshiko growled. He took a step forward to join Fuu and Ino, "Looks like we've got a fight on our hands."

"Water Style: Water Trumpet!" Asuna jumped in to blast Izuna with a powerful stream of water.

Surprised, Izuna still managed to unsheathe his sword, plant it into the earth and perform a few hand signs, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" he inhaled before exhaling a massive fireball. The fireball turned the water to steam.

Asuna breathed a little, "Did this guy just cancel my water out with fire?" Izuna pulled his sword out of the ground and shunshined, "Shit," Izuna was fast. Hoshiko was faster. He grabbed her and zipped back.

Izuna smirked as he dug his sword into the ground. Hoshiko's low chakra reserves had started taking their toll on the speedster. Fuu could hear in his breathing. They wouldn't be able to survive a three-on-one battle against someone like Izuna. She asked herself, _"Can we hold him off until Itachi gets here?"_ she looked at Hoshiko. Asuna turned to stare into his brown eyes. He winked, _"Or try to just get past him?"_

"He's coming," Ino warned.

Izuna was going through more hand seals. He raised his fingers to his mouth, "Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

"Ninja Art: Cocoon!" Fuu saved herself and Ino from evaporation. Hoshiko had to grab Asuna, Sakura, Hanabi and Hinata and speed them away from the blast. The intense flame destroyed most of Fuu's cocoon but at least she and Ino survived the blaze. Izuna wiped his lip as Hoshiko zipped back with his four passengers.

"You guys are heavy," he remarked.

"Is everyone good?" Fuu leapt back with Ino, giving them at least twelve metres of space between themselves and Izuna.

"You're running out of chakra, let me give you a bit more," Sakura said to Hoshiko.

"Hell no, I'm as healthy as an ox. I never need extra chakra."

"What's the plan then," Ino asked.

"Dealing with the Sharingan is always tricky," Hoshiko noted, "Considering how if we all attack at once he'll still be able to read all our techniques just by looking at us."

"And knock us out just by looking into our eyes," Ino added.

Fuu had a shit-eating grin on her face, "Not me, ssu, Choumei can release Genjutsu on my behalf," she bragged.

"No time to chat, it looks like he's about to come again," Asuna readied a kunai knife.

"Where the hell are Itachi and Sasuke, ssu?"

XXX

"Where are you going?" Itachi grabbed Sasuke's arm.

"Why are we stopping?" the younger Uchiha groaned.

"Because you realised you just split the team up again right?"

"So, what's the problem with that? If the others die then they die," Sasuke shrugged.

"Oi! Sasuke, you can't always be fighting us when we try to bond with you, dattebayo!" Naruto approached the duo.

"Stay the fuck out of this," Sasuke yelled.

"Excuse me, don't fucking talk to Naruto like that!" Tayuya roared.

"Put your bitch on a leash!" Sasuke replied.

"On a leash? Okay, now we're fighting," the blonde charged. Sasuke pushed Itachi out of the way. Naruto threw a right hook. Sasuke ducked under it, grabbed Naruto by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Kin shoved Sasuke, forcing him to drop the blonde, "Stay back," Naruto was struggling to catch his breath.

"Face it," Sasuke got in Naruto's face. Kin placed her arm between the Uchiha and his clanless teammate, "You've got no clan, you've got no jutsu, you've got no value! You serve no purpose to this team, you blonde sack of shit," Sasuke roared.

"Okay, enough!" Itachi yelled. He ushered the hot-headed Uchiha away, "What's gotten into you?"

Tayuya walked up to Naruto and squeezed his hand with hers, "You okay?" she whispered. Naruto's jaw clenched as he took a deep breath in, "You know, at any moment we could just walk away from all of this."

"No, that's exactly what people like him want," Naruto said, "Let's go."

Kin looked over her shoulder at the battles happening behind her.

" _ **You're suffering!"**_ a voice bellowed. Kin gasped.

" _Three Tails? Was that you?"_ Kin asked her inner demon, but the giant turtle was asleep. He was so still that he appeared dead at first sight, tucked into his large shell with all three tails laying behind him.

"Kin, you don't want to get caught in the crossfire, do you?" Tayuya shouted.

XXX

Several knocks rang around the quiet cottage. Shinji yawned as he opened the door, "Rock Lee, Mirai, what brings you to our corner of the woods?" the young brunette grinned.

"We are just here to retrieve Kagerou and Tenzo," Rock Lee bowed before the younger man.

"Oh uh, you guys are leaving already?" Shinji asked as the white-haired man strolled past him.

"The princesses are moving eastwards through the Land of Grass, we're going to intercept them there," Tenzo explained ducking under the doorframe.

"All four of you?" Shinji gasped.

"After seeing how Sasori and Deidara not only failed, but destroyed a section of his Sanction, Lord Pain wanted to be extra careful with the targets this time around," Kagerou said, "And I'm one hundred per cent sure that we're coming back with two Hyuuga Princesses, even if we have to beat them half to death and drag them here."

XXX

Izuna parried Asuna's kunai knife thrusts with his sword. Hoshiko zipped away. Izuna looked back. Fuu was approaching.

"Can I borrow this," Izuna interlocked Asuna's fingers with his own. Asuna stared into the Sharingan, the Uchiha took control of her hand. He used his left hand to block Fuu's kunai knife before weaving through some hand signs using Asuna's fingers, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Fuu flew away.

Ino threw poison darts. Asuna rolled away. They exploded around Izuna, who covered his nose and jumped away. Hoshiko sped down the mountain, "Incoming!"

Izuna read his movements, tripping him. The curly-haired speedster took a tumble but Asuna picked him up.

"Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Powder Sword!" Fuu released glowing powder from her mouth. It collected around her hand, hardening into a blade. Izuna grinned. The Jinchuuriki flew in, kunai in one hand, sword in the other.

Izuna fought her with a single sword and a Sharingan.

Fuu looked up.

Izuna traced her eyes.

Hoshiko came down.

Izuna leapt into the air to avoid Asuna's hands.

"Lightning Style: Surge!" the lightning spread out, knocking all three fighters back. Asuna exploded out of the earth a few metres away. Hoshiko landed on his shoulder. Fuu flew backwards, but landed on her feet, "Try again," he demanded.

"Last resort," Fuu clapped her hands together before summoning the Seven Tails Chakra to aid her. The chakra cracked the earth as she prepared her final attack.

Hoshiko wiped the blood from his lower lip, "Mine too," he channelled wind chakra through his body, lighting up his eyes.

"Hit me with all you've got!" Izuna laughed. He got knocked over by a burst of rushing water.

"Water Style: Grand Water Trumpet!" Asuna's eyes widened as the technique trapped the Uchiha between the mountain base's sharp rocks and a deadly torrent of water.

"Mini-Tailed Beast Bomb!" Fuu announced as she held her arms out in front of her. Tiny orbs of positive and negative chakra came together and compressed in front of her open palms. They formed one tiny purple ball of destruction.

Hoshiko got down on one knee, "Secret Taijutsu: Hypersonic Flow!"

The speedster exploded. Izuna lifted his sword to block the deadly punch. A massive chakra shield formed around the younger man. Asuna continued to trap Izuna between a rock and hard place. Fuu released the Tailed Beast Bomb. It bent space and time as it rocketed towards the Uchiha.

"Nice combination," Izuna admitted as his three-tomoe Sharingan combined and began rotating, "But do you know what's worse than not having the Sharingan?"

The massive explosion flung Hoshiko through the air. He hit a hill and collapsed. Asuna flew back into Ino's arms. Fuu covered her face with her arms, "What the fuck is that, ssu?"

"Madara taught it to me, a jutsu only those who've unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan in both eyes can activate, and mastered both of their eyes' special techniques, named after the god of the seas and storms, the strongest technique available to bearers of the Sharingan… Susanoo," the light blue skeletal frame of a demonic humanoid's upper body loomed over the Uchiha. It chuckled maniacally whilst giving the mercenaries a toothy grin. Izuna quickly deactivated the technique before reverting to his Sharingan.

"Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" Asuna wrapped the liquid whip around Izuna's wrist before pulling him to earth.

"Such a simple jutsu, all I have to do is-," Izuna was interrupted by Fuu growing a tail and wrapping it around Izuna's other wrist as she fluttered above the Uchiha, "No problem!" he commented as he was lifted off his feet and stretched.

"Coming in for the final hit!" Ino rushed towards the legendary Uchiha. She looked into his eyes for a second. The platinum blonde woman lost her footing and careened into the dirt at Izuna's face. The young man lifted her body up with his foot and threw her into Asuna. The stoic woman caught her, letting go of her water whip. Izuna used his own water affinity to keep the whip intact before throwing it at Fuu to catch her wrist.

"Fire Style!"

"Not on my watch!" Hoshiko slid in to tackle Izuna's feet. He leapt, dropped the whip, grabbed a sword and stabbed Hoshiko's head. The speedster cried, his body fell limp as Izuna pulled the sword out and launched it at Fuu. The bug Jinchuuriki came down with a thud.

Izuna dusted off his shoulder, "The fact that I won that battle so quickly feels disrespectful, to say the least."

Asuna threw Ino to the ground. The Yamanaka Princess was unconscious, deprived of chakra after being trapped in the Genjutsu: Sharingan. Hoshiko was on the verge of death. Fuu had been impaled by a sword to the chest so she was probably out of the fight too. Izuna turned to her.

"You've won, I can't believe it, you're so much stronger than all of us, even your own brother," Asuna started laughing.

Izuna threw his sword away before screaming, "Okay, fuck you, Itachi, I'm tired of your Genjutsu!" The world froze and went bright red before sinking into Itachi's right eye. The man had pointed at Izuna, and that point was enough to trap him in a powerful Genjutsu. Izuna breathed heavily as he looked up at the younger Uchiha, "It's impossible to mistake your Genjutsu," he noted.

Ino was still holding Asuna, Hoshiko was sitting on the hill, and Fuu had just fired a Tailed Beast Bomb which did nothing to the onyx-eyed prodigy. Sasuke, Naruto, Tayuya and Kin rushed into battle behind the older Uchiha. Hoshiko leaned against the hill before looking up, "Whoa, what did you do?"

"I defeated him," Itachi sighed.

Izuna collapsed, summoning Madara to his side. The Uchiha were forced to retreat from the battle. The team, trying to stay inconspicuous, quickly rushed over the mountain and into the plains on the other side, where they finally rested.

XXX

The group had chosen to rest near a river surrounded by damp soil, tall grass and beautiful scenery. The lights of a government-funded Sanction could be seen shining in the distance, but after the stunt Sasuke had pulled, no one had the energy to walk the extra couple kilometres. Plus, the river was a lot more tranquil than any Sanction, so they decided to just stop in the relaxing grass for the night. Hoshiko sat, shirtless, in his tent whilst Sakura healed his back. The pink-haired medic had to juggle healing with speedster with making sure Sasuke was okay, but Hoshiko tried to assure her that his injuries were a lot more severe at that moment. Naruto was in a deep conversation with Kin over something whilst Tayuya sat in silence and listened. Fuu tried to talk to Itachi, but the Uchiha was obviously a lot more distracted by Sasuke's antics. Hinata sat in her Hyuuga Tent with Ino and Hanabi, leaving Asuna alone with Sasuke by the river's edge.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Hoshiko grabbed Sakura's hand.

"What? What?" the medic asked.

"You're literally shovelling your chakra into me and it hurts," the speedster whined.

"Sorry, I'm just… a little distracted," she said.

"I can tell, what is it?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"But I don't know if chasing Sasuke is a good idea or not," Hoshiko deadpanned as Sakura continued, "You know, the first time I saw him in that clearing I just knew that I'd found the man of my life, you know."

"Not really," Hoshiko raised an eyebrow, "Sounds to me like you're a hopeless romantic considering how he's literally done nothing but destroy our team."

"Sasuke's just… misunderstood, you don't know him like I do," Sakura sighed.

"I honestly feel like I've spent more time with him than you have," Hoshiko said, "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Shannaro! I'm serious!" Sakura eased up, "I've met tortured souls like him before, he's just looking for someone who'll accept him for who he is, I'm sure I can change him."

" _Accept him for who he is… I can change him,"_ Hoshiko thought about it for a second, but then remembered that this woman was currently keeping him healthy, so he decided not to say anything on that topic. "It sounds like you really like him."

"I wouldn't say it's love at this moment, I just want to know more about him. I don't know, what do you think?"

"I just think the Wastelands are about goals. Goals are what keep you alive and if your goals aren't aligned, maybe he's not the right person for you," Hoshiko shrugged.

Sakura sighed, "That's the problem, my goals are family-orientated and which mercenary would give up their livelihood just to start a family with me?" the Haruno woman asked.

"I'd love to leave the Facility behind just to start a family," the speedster said. Sakura blushed, "But don't worry, I'm not hitting on you or anything. I'm just saying that guys like that do exist, it's just harder to find them."

"Speaking of goals, I never got to hear what your goals were."

"Oh, I'm property of the Land of Fire's Facility, I'm not allowed to have goals."

"Come on, I'm sure you have some goals, you've already told me that you wanted a family."

Hoshiko went quiet. The sound of insects chirping on the tall grass broke the silence between the pair, "I guess I'd say my goal is to keep Asuna safe."

"Aww, are you two together?"

"No, but Asuna is so emotional and she balances my lack of emotion, she was my anchor when I first got to the Facility, without her, I would've lost it."

Sakura giggled, "Did you say she's the emotional one? Didn't expect that."

"Yeah, we're both just very good at masking our true selves," Sakura stared at Hoshiko's back. The speedster looked over his shoulders as her hands stopped glowing, "What?"

"… I'm done healing you, don't get any more injuries, okay," the pinkhead stood up. Hoshiko tried to stand, but he was still basically chakraless, "And get some rest, next time don't use up all your chakra in one battle."

"No promises."

" _ **Bring me the Hyuuga!"**_ Tayuya slapped her ear. She stared at her hand to see a dead mosquito soaked in her own blood.

"Ew," she rubbed her palm against the earth.

"What's on your mind?" Kin asked the blonde mercenary in front of her. The trio had decided to share a tent instead of raising three separate tents, and since Naruto's tent was the largest, they'd chosen his one.

"I don't know, I just have this weird overwhelming feeling that we might be in over our heads, dattebayo."

"How so?"

"The two guys we met in the Rain Sanction, the blonde lady and Hashirama, all of them could have killed us if they wanted to get to Hinata, everyone is just so much stronger than us, and I feel like our route is so predictable that we're bound to run into other opponents."

"We don't really have a choice," Kin shrugged, "If we use the Land of Fire Northern Border we'll encounter twice as many people as we'll encounter on our current route, we'll just have to get stronger as the enemies get tougher."

"Plus, you've already got rotation and power down, all you need is to master containment and you'll have yourself a Rasengan," Tayuya tried to cheer her blonde idiot up. Naruto stared at the tall grass surrounding them. His blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight's glow.

"Is this about Sasuke?" Kin asked.

Naruto scratched his chin, "I mean, he wasn't wrong. I've got no clan, I've got no jutsu and I've got no value, I mean, since Kurama's gone to sleep I can't even use Tailed Beast chakra for the next week or so, dattebayo."

Kin grabbed his hand, "Whoa, a team is about a lot more than just how strong its members are. Being in a team is about being part of a collective and contributing as one, and in that department, you're twice as worthy as Sasuke. You and your energy are what keep the team together, I'd much rather have a thousand versions of you, than one version of Sasuke in my team," the onyx-haired beauty giggled.

"That's a brave thing to say to someone who can actually create a thousand versions of himself," Naruto chuckled.

"Exactly, I'd like to see anyone in Sasuke's clan try to do what you can do," Kin smirked. Tayuya reluctantly reached out to grab Naruto's hand too. The blonde accepted it. The redhead's heart raced, she looked up into his blue eyes. Naruto flashed his famous foxy grin at the pair.

Fuu sat next to Itachi as the Uchiha analysed his personal map. Itachi was evidently more worried about Sasuke than he was about the mission at that moment. The mint-haired woman was also more focused on the ponytailed mercenary than the piece of paper in front of them.

"You're holding out on us, ssu."

"What do you mean?"

"You're lying to the others."

Itachi sighed, "If you're talking about the sacrifice, I told you I'll tell everyone when the time is right."

"I'm not just talking about the sacrifice. You're hiding your true strength from us. That guy back there took a Tailed Beast Bomb like a champ and you defeated him just by pointing at him."

"I just caught Izuna off guard, that's it, I'm not hiding any secrets."

"And back on the subject of the sacrifice, when do you plan on telling people about the sacrifice, Itachi? I want you to be a great leader, but I can't help you if you're constantly lying to the people who've trusted you enough to be led by you."

"Don't you think I know all of this? What you're telling me right now is something I've been relaying in my mind ever since Shisui told me about the sacrifice, I don't know what to do."

"Then let me help you, ssu!"

"You mean like be my vice-captain?" Itachi turned to Fuu, whose face had lit up at the thought of being Itachi's co-leader. The Uchiha chuckled, "Sure, you can be my vice-captain, Fuu. What's your first point of order then?"

"Well, I feel like something that's holding our team back a lot is that we don't even have a team name," Fuu put her finger under her lip, "We're all just a bunch of mercenaries and that doesn't feel as unifying as something like the Three Sages."

"A team name? You're more creative than I am, so I'll gladly leave that to you."

"Okay, hope you don't mind if I just throw some ideas at you and have you deflect them back at me, ssu."

"Sure," Itachi looked out of his tent to see Sasuke sitting at the river's edge with Asuna, the two most stoic people on the team sitting next to each other? _"What could they be talking about?"_

"Team Ten, ssu!"

"What?"

"How about Team Ten?" Fuu asked.

"Because there's ten of us?" Fuu nodded, "Sounds a bit… too straightforward."

"Okay, okay, maybe… the Forgotten," Fuu suggested.

"The Forgotten what?"

"The Forgotten… as in we've all been abandoned by someone, ssu."

Itachi shook his head, "Sounds too edgy."

Fuu slapped the man's back in excitement, "The Shinobi Alliance!"

"Shinobi?"

"Yeah. I mean, look at the people we've got on our team, we've already transcended the idea of mercenaries, ssu! We deserved a title more powerful and scary than just mercenaries, why don't we be shinobi," Fuu asked.

"And Alliance?"

"We've all come from different areas of the Wastelands, but we've managed to come together to form a single unite, we are an alliance now," Fuu smirked.

Itachi shrugged, "I don't mind it, we are the Shinobi Alliance then."

"Yes!" Fuu punched the air before rushing out and yelling, "Oi! From now on, we call ourselves the Shinobi Alliance, ssu!"

Sasuke ignored the tanned woman's cries and just threw a rock into the rushing waters. Asuna stared at the river in front of her. A sleek silver fish leapt out of the water and caught a dragonfly before diving back into the murky liquid.

"Why the hell are you here?" Sasuke asked tossing another rock into the water.

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you sitting here? Next to me… what do you want from me?"

"Absolutely nothing, last time I checked the river's edge was no one's property."

"There's literally a hundred metres of river bank that you could have sat on and yet you chose to invade _my_ privacy."

"You're as annoying as Hoshiko, and that's an achievement."

"I'm nothing like Hoshiko, he's below me."

"Do you have any other emotion, other than being a dick, of course?"

"Look who's talking, you've been about as emotional as a stick of butter."

"I'd argue I'm the most emotional person here, I'm just also the best at hiding it," Asuna shrugged.

"Why am I wasting my oxygen talking to you?"

"Maybe because you long for someone to talk to on the inside."

"Wrong," Sasuke scowled, "I long for only one thing and that's the power to surpass even the Uchiha Lord, Madara. Then, the world, and even the Uchiha Clan itself, will know to fear me, Sasuke Uchiha."

"We've all got our own agendas, you know. I actually came here because of the stunt you pulled today."

Sasuke threw another rock into the river, "If you came to scold me, then you back the fuck off, because Itachi's already tried to."

"I don't scold, I warn. I need that prize money, and if you stand in the way of my goals and me obtaining my share of a billion Ryo, I'm going to have to break you," Asuna grabbed Sasuke's shirt. The Uchiha flashed his Sharingan at her. She flashed her Doubetsugan at him.

"Now kiss," Hoshiko chuckled.

Sasuke shoved the stoic woman away, "You, Facility brats, are weird," he got up to his feet and began walking towards the Uchiha Tent, but paused as he passed Hoshiko, "Hey, Asuna."

"Hmm?"

"What exactly is your agenda?" the Uchiha didn't look back at the duo.

Asuna turned to Hoshiko, who shrugged. She looked back at the red-eyed man and commented, "To feel content with the mask I've forced myself to wear."

"Interesting," Sasuke remarked before walking away.

Asuna glared at Hoshiko, "What?" the speedster shrugged.

"Now kiss?"

"A kiss can always break a tense situation," Hoshiko grinned. Asuna glared at him. His smirk died. She squinted. He kissed her nose, "See?"

Asuna's eyes went light brown. She stared past the speedster. Hoshiko looked over his shoulder as a large brown bear lumbered out of the woods and charged. The chakra-deprived idiot screamed as the giant creature approached. Naruto and Kin chuckled when they noticed it was making a beeline for Hoshiko. Sasuke, Itachi and Fuu brushed it off. Hinata and Hanabi giggled. Sakura sighed because she knew she was going to have to heal the brunette. The bear mauled him.

XXX

Tayuya opened her eyes. She was surrounded by darkness again. This time she stood up and looked around, "What the fuck is going on?"

" **You refuse to bring me Hinata?"**

"I don't know who you are, but for the first time, tonight, our team finally became an actual team, and I'm not going to jeopardise that because you think you can get into my mind. I've fought greater demons than your voice."

The red-eyed creature approached. Tayuya took a few steps back **, "The nightmares will continue."**

"You're fucking threatening me with nightmares? My life's been a nightmare ever since… ever since he died."

The red eyes stopped moving. The figure exhaled loudly **, "Naruto will die."**

"You'll have to break every bone in my body before you can even touch Naruto."

" **Tayu-chan, do you know what I am?"**

"I don't even care anymore," Tayuya lifted both of her middle fingers up to the monster's face, "You said it yourself, you're about as strong as a weak-willed woman, well guess what? I'm not fucking weak-willed anymore."

" **All this confidence because Naruto touched you?"**

"He grabbed my hand. He's slowly but surely acknowledging me, it's only a matter of time before we take it to the next step," Tayuya folded her arms under her breasts. The red eyes squinted at her through the darkness. The voice started laughing, "What's tickling you, dumbass?"

" **I just realised you said I was as powerful as a weak-willed woman… I'm a god. The longer I stay on earth, the more godly I become. You realise that the only reason I asked you to bring Hinata to me is so we could save a lot of time, you realise there will come a day when I'll just come down from above and take her myself, right?"**

"When that day comes, I'll make sure to kill you myself," Tayuya smirked. She reached out and grabbed the darkness by the chest. She squeezed, turning the creature to dust.

XXX

Tayuya opened her eyes. She was lying between Naruto and Kin. The sleeping blonde behind her had taken up the role of a big spoon. Tayuya closed her eyes to feel his muscular arms wrap around her thin waist. As he exhaled softly, she could feel his chest deflate. A few seconds later, it re-inflated, allowing her to sense his heartbeat on her back. Naruto's right knee was tucked between Tayuya's thighs. She'd never felt so safe before.

Tayuya looked up into Kin's eyes.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked. Tayuya's eyes widened. She shook her head furiously.

"I'm just glad to be out of the cold."

They both sat in silence. The plains were so peaceful. The warm glow of the fireplace radiated off their faces, lighting up their features and creating a sparkle in their eyes. The steady crackling of the fire was as tranquil as the soothing sound of rushing water and the echo of chirping insects.

"You know he probably likes you too right?" Kin whispered.

"He does, but I'm not sure how exactly to ask him out… do I just like walk up to him and tell him I like him, do I ask him out on a date first, do I-," Kin covered her mouth.

"You just have to let your gut decide," she said placing her other hand on the redhead's stomach, "Itachi was planning on stopping in the Plains Sanction ahead to resupply, we might be there for three or four days."

"So?"

"There'll probably never be a more perfect time to confess to Naruto. We'll be in a Sanction for three days, which means three days without fighting."

"I don't know, I'll see," Kin's brow furrowed. Tayuya squinted, "Why are you up?"

Kin laughed softly, "I just had a bad dream, nothing to worry about."

Tayuya yawned, "Okay, but if it happens again, feel free to wake me if you want to talk about it," she'd already closed her eyes.

" _ **Bring… me… Hinata."**_

Kin shut her eyes until the voices disappeared.


	12. No Clan! No Jutsu! No Value! Part II!

**Reviews**

 **Thecla:** Thanks, and yeah, the next few chapters will mainly focus on character interactions, well, the chapters after this one, and I'm just a nice person generally and if someone took time to express their views in a review, even if they attack me, I won't attack them back.

 **Aleksej k:** Yep, as we approach the halfway mark more things will become clear and we'll know more and more about the characters and the villains chasing them.

 **Biginferno:** He definitely deserves someone to shut him up and since the next chapters will be about interaction, we'll see a lot more of Naruto and Tayuya.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Twelve: No Clan! No Jutsu! No Value! Part II!**

XXX

 _October, 15._

A red-eyed silhouette lowered itself onto a cliff and stared down into the abyss below. Its feet dangled in the air as the figure grinned. Mutant humanoids meandering around the fiery but desolate landscape surrounding the figure. Slowly, it leaned over the edge.

" **Hinata Hyuuga,"** the creature said **, "You have no idea how special you are, my little sunny place. With my army still heading west and all your allies adamant on helping you out, you've somehow managed to do what no one's done for nearly a hundred years… bring a god down to earth,"** he smirked **, "You've earned a quick and painless death. Those who protect you though? Their countdown begins now,"** the figure let itself go and descended. After a while, the silhouette went from falling to rising and it reached for the skies as it fell upwards. From the darkness, stars were born and with then, billions of planets, galaxies were created and the time began again.

XXX

The morning sun's rays brightened Asuna's face as she knelt over the moist soil, dipped her cupped hand into the rushing river and pulled it out to take a sip of clean Grass Country water that'd just come down from the mountain looming over the camp.

"That's some good water," the naturist acknowledged, "cleaner than Facility water that's for…" Asuna paused when she sensed someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Sasuke standing behind her ominously.

"…" the Uchiha said nothing.

Asuna chuckled. The animal expert slowly got to her feet, "Be careful Sasuke, you don't sneak up on a woman who can knock you out before you even comprehend what happened."

"You couldn't even touch me if you wanted to," Sasuke flashed his Sharingan.

"Calm down, Uchiha, I was just joking," Asuna took a step back.

"You don't joke when it comes to having power over someone else," Sasuke effortlessly pushed Asuna into the rushing water. The graceful woman flipped over to the other side and landed on her feet.

"Are you crazy? I could've fallen into the water."

"You know, I was thinking about what you said earlier, about agendas, and I think I know what my agenda is now! I'm sick and tired of you and your clanless people thinking you can be in the same team as someone as elite as me, you may have my brother fooled but my mind refuses to waiver. You can't crush me, Asuna, because I'm going to crush you!" the Uchiha growled.

"I think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Asuna walked onto the water and approached the Uchiha with hands out, "Maybe if you just-."

"Chidori!" Sasuke readied his left hand.

"Sasuke!" She threw herself back to avoid the deadly lightning technique. Sasuke swung violently. Asuna evaded. With each dodge, she had to take a step back. The Uchiha kicked her into the dirt. In the end, they were about fifty metres from the river that separated the plains from their camp.

"There can only be one at the top!"

Sasuke's arm stopped.

The Uchiha looked over his shoulder. Hoshiko had grabbed the older man's elbow, "Let go of me."

"What's gotten into you?" Hoshiko asked.

"I said let go of me!"

"You know the rules, you hurt Asuna, I hurt you."

"Chidori Nagashi!" Sasuke announced as black flames spread across his face and torso. A stream of lightning blasted the man. Hoshiko was sent back, but the speedster got back up.

"Asuna, call Itachi," Hoshiko wiped his lip.

"Even Itachi is below me now!"

As Hoshiko advanced, Sasuke spotted the wind chakra flowing through Hoshiko's pathways and grinned. Asuna dashed past him. Sasuke went through some hand signs. He finished by grabbing Hoshiko's head and firing a jutsu at close-proximity.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the wind and fire mixed together in Hoshiko's system. Sasuke knew wind was weak to fire, thus he burnt Hoshiko from the inside.

Asuna stopped. The speedster let out a bloodcurdling scream that woke everyone up in the camp. Sasuke dropped Hoshiko, who tried to put himself out by rolling. The fire was too intense. The struggling ceased. He burned. Asuna turned to grab the burning man. She risked her body to carry him into the river. He finally extinguished. His body didn't move.

"You monster!" Asuna yelled. Her face scrunched as she finally showed some emotion. Sorrow. She tried to wipe the tears from her face, but the stream grew into a salty river that fell onto the charred shinobi.

"Sasuke! We talked about this! What are you doing?" Itachi cried.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Asuna cried.

"I'll take him," Itachi picked the limp body up, "We'll talk when we get back," the Uchiha vanished with Asuna.

Naruto looked across the river to Sasuke.

"Are you out of your mind, dattebayo?"

"You have no right to talk to me like that. None of you does," Sasuke retorted.

"Really, you selfish prick? Maybe I should beat the right into you then," Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, don't!" Sakura cried.

"Fuck you!" Tayuya shut Sakura up, "Naruto, teach this bastard a lesson!" she growled. Naruto dashed in. Sasuke cleaned his clock with a punch to the jaw. The blonde collapsed into the water, "Naruto!" Tayuya's eyes widened. The black flames spread across Sasuke's whole body. The Uchiha picked the shinobi up with his right hand.

"Chidori!"

"Oh shit," the ladies rushed to the river.

Naruto opened one eye to look down at Sasuke, "No…" he whimpered. The Uchiha's pale skin was now dark grey. His red eyes swam in a sea of darkness as his onyx hair grew out into a mess of dark blue locks. His Chidori went from white to black. Sasuke went from man to monster.

" _ **You woke me up from my nap… brat."**_

A wave of chakra destroyed the surrounding area. Sasuke's whole body froze. The river water scattered as Naruto released so much chakra, that Hanabi couldn't stay on her feet. The Uchiha's eyes widened, _"What is this?"_

"Shit," Fuu looked up.

"Damn it," Kin did the same.

"Not this chakra again," Tayuya fell to her knees.

The giant chakra fox materialized over Sasuke, created by the vortex of hot thick red chakra. It reached out to grab his left hand, disabling the Chidori. Sasuke was in utter shock, "Naruto?"

The blonde flung Sasuke away. He landed on his feet. Blood dripped from his lower lip to his chin as he roared. He let out a feral scream. Sasuke got to his feet. "I've got no clan! I've no **jutsu! I've got no value! But I'm still about the kick the shit out of your smug ass**!"

"Come… Naru-," Naruto landed a punch to Sasuke's gut. The older man's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He let loose two more punches, lifting him into the air. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's foot.

" **Get down here**!" he slammed Sasuke's face into the earth, grabbed the back of Sasuke's head, dragged him a couple of metres through the dirt, threw him into the river, grabbed his leg and flung him into a tent.

Sasuke struggled to breathe.

Naruto tackled him. He clutched Sasuke's shirt, tearing it. The Uchiha tried to jump away. " **Since when did Uchiha run**?!" Naruto swiped at Sasuke.

The young adult landed on his feet. Naruto's eyes widened.

" **Shut up**!" Sasuke's voice deepened. The blonde attacked. Sasuke blocked with a wing. The appendage grabbed the boy and threw him into another tent.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura watched on, "Have you become a monster?"

Sasuke caught Naruto's fist. The impact hurt him. Using raw strength alone, Naruto punched Sasuke so hard he fell onto his back. The onslaught continued on the floor. Sasuke bruised and bled. Naruto didn't slow down.

Sasuke's two tomoe Sharingan evolved. The third tomoe came in as Sasuke deflected one of Naruto's punches. The Jinchuuriki punched the floor. Sasuke headbutted him.

He spread his wings. Naruto bit his neck. Sasuke scratched his back. Naruto drew blood.

" **Chidori**!" the left arm went straight through Naruto's right lung. The Jinchuuriki had to get off. " **As long as I control lightning, I'm still better than you**!" Sasuke pushed Naruto away with his wings. Naruto was struggling to stand now. " **Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu**!" he launched a massive fireball. The flames engulfed Naruto. Roasting him.

They began to swirl. The embers rotated like a whirlpool, swarming into a central spot as Naruto emerged from the flames unscathed.

"What?" Tayuya's hands fell on her head.

Naruto blitzed Sasuke. The Uchiha was stunned. _"What is this?"_ red eyes met red eyes. Sasuke followed Naruto's right arm until he got to the hand. A spiralling sphere of blue and white chakra. Pure chakra, _"Is this Naruto?"_

" **Rasengan**!"

Sasuke was out. Naruto diverted the attack at the last second and caught Sasuke's stomach as he threw himself to the ground. The Uchiha still got hit and collapsed. Naruto rolled to his feet.

Naruto got down on one knee to grab a fistful of Sasuke's black hair, "You're right! I have no clan! I have no jutsu! I have no value! But here you are, the great Sasuke Uchiha, bleeding at my feet. You deserve so much more than just a Rasengan."

"Get off him!" Sakura shoved Naruto away.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tayuya yelled.

"Let's all calm down, ssu," Fuu stood between Sakura and Sasuke, and Naruto and Tayuya, "Things got a bit heated but… okay, poor choice of words."

"You burnt Hoshiko!" Naruto roared.

"I'm sure Sasuke had his own reasons for doing it, you don't know what goes on in his mind," Sakura had already started healing the injured shinobi, "That doesn't mean you should just attack him for no reason," Ino joined the pinkhead. Hinata and Kin joined Naruto and Tayuya. Fuu sighed.

"Did this bitch say 'for no reason', dattebayo?" Naruto asked Tayuya.

"I think… I think we need to take a few minutes to just breathe… then we can get moving to the Grass Sanction, is that okay?" no one responded so the Jinchuuriki turned to Hanabi.

"Fly me to the Grass Sanction hospital."

"What? Why?"

"I need to check up on Hoshiko."

"I can't do that, you've seen what happens when we stretch ourselves too thin, we're needed here right now, Itachi, Asuna and Hoshiko are in a Sanction, they'll be safe."

"I need to make sure he's okay!"

"Hanabi! Stop bothering Fuu!" Hinata demanded. The Hyuuga Heiress stomped off, refusing to listen to her sister or her vice-captain, "Hanabi!" Hinata chased after her younger sister.

Fuu looked around. Naruto's Tailed Beast chakra had disappeared, leaving him in a slightly weakened state. The blonde was helped to his feet by Tayuya and Kin. Sasuke was in much worse shape, but Sakura and Ino were keeping him conscious. The mint-haired woman stared at the large glass structure surrounding the Sanction in the distance, "So much for the Shinobi _Alliance_ ," Fuu moaned.


	13. It's Beautiful

**Reviews**

 **Biginferno:** This fight between Naruto and Sasuke definitely showed where the real friendships lie between the members of the team, and if Naruto and Tayuya become official you know she's not going to let anyone else get anywhere near him.

 **Aleksej k:** Sasuke's carefree attitude is certainly doing nothing but derailing the team bonding process, which means some more team bonding is definitely needed before the team can be considered a real team.

 **Guest:** He surely is, and you can be certain that he won't be easily forgiven for literally setting a teammate on fire.

 **Benerice93:** Thanks, hopefully, I won't disappoint with upcoming chapters.

 **Thecla:** Yep, you gotta love Sasuke and his disregard for the well-being of others, hopefully, the group will be able to come together after his antics.

 **XXX**

 **A/N:** I just realised I made an oopsie, which I had to go back and retcon now that I read through the story from beginning to end. Initially, I'd stated that Tayuya was the Three Tails Jinchuuriki and Kin was the Five Tails, but I gave Kin Coral Style in the Rain Sanction so I ended up giving Tayuya the Five Tails, slight error but I fixed it so just pretend Tayuya's been the Five Tails Jinchuuriki this whole time.

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Thirteen: It's Beautiful**

XXX

Night had fallen on the Grass Sanction. After a few moments of awkwardness, the Shinobi Alliance had finally decided to move on into the large Sanction where Hinata was able to book the group three log cabins that sat tranquilly on the edge of a large lake, surrounded by dense shrubbery. The moon hovered over the log cabins bringing an end to a long and worrying day. Sasuke sat on the porch facing the lake as the moon's reflection bounced off the surface into his onyx eyes. Sakura pushed open the paper sliding door and approached the Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"What do you want?"

"I'm… a little worried," she placed her hands in front of her skirt in timidity.

"About?"

"You."

The Uchiha looked over his shoulder and glared at her, "What about me?"

The pink-haired medic sat at the man's side and looked down at the water. The porch's wooden stilts went deeper into the lakebed. The Haruno stared at the murky water before looking back at Sasuke, "I get that you were angry, but… everyone's really worried about Hoshiko, and I don't want to judge you without getting your opinion on the incident, maybe you had a good reason for doing it, you know?"

"You don't need to know why I do what I do."

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura looked into Sasuke's onyx eyes, "There's no one else here, you can talk to me. There's no need to keep that stoic mask on."

"This isn't a mask," Sasuke stood up, "and if you really want to know why I did what I did, it's because I enjoyed it. I needed to remind everyone in the group that people hailing from clans are the dominant race and there's no clan more powerful than the Uchiha Clan, and there's no Uchiha Clan member more deadly and destructive than me, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Oh, come on Sasuke, that act doesn't work with me," Sakura stood up and grabbed his elbow.

The Sharingan stare that she got back, forced her heart into her stomach. Sasuke's new triple-tomoe Sharingan made Sakura's knees shake as she stared into a pair of eyes strong enough to kill her where she stood.

"There is no act, you brat. In fact, I enjoyed burning Hoshiko, he was an idiot for keeping wind chakra flowing through his body, and if I could do it again, just to hear him scream as his pathways burned from the inside-out, I would do it… I'd do it over and over and over," Sasuke yanked his arm away, and closed the door as he entered the log cabin.

"Sasuke-kun, this isn't the real you, something's making you like this."

XXX

Naruto gently opened a door to enter a hospital room. Fuu walked in behind him as he closed the door and began walking towards Itachi, Asuna and a doctor dressed in full white. He tried to get a quick reading of the room. Itachi was as calm as ever. The doctor had just lifted his clipboard to begin speaking. Asuna was already pissed off, her fists clenched. As Naruto got closer, he spotted Hoshiko, eyes closed, dressed in bandages, attached to instruments and machines.

"What's going on, ssu?"

"The doctor was about to tell us what his studies deduced," Itachi said.

"Yes, and you are?"

"Fuu," the Jinchuuriki shook the doctor's hand.

"Naruto," the blonde bumped the doctor's fist.

"Okay, Naruto-san, Fuu-san, so, after going through multiple tests, I've reasoned that this man was burned from the inside out."

"Oh really?" Asuna's head tilted, "Is that your professional medical diagnosis? Is that what you spent ten years of your life practicing to do, tell people what they obviously already know?"

Itachi placed his hands on the woman's shoulders, "Calm down, Asuna, I'm sure he was getting to the more medical stuff."

The doctor nodded, "The good news is that he's not dead yet, and his chakra pathways, as chakra pathways usually do, healed up very quickly."

"And the bad news?" Fuu asked.

"While the pathways healed up and his skin didn't suffer as much damage, the nerves and the nerve tissue surrounding his chakra pathways were charred and damaged in the incident."

"Nerves naturally heal, don't they?" Itachi asked.

"That's true, if they get cut, but burns are a little different. There's no assurance that they'll heal properly, especially when the damage is littered across practically the whole body."

"What are you trying to say?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, get on with it," Asuna snapped.

"We have a Sanction specialist who can reconnect nerves and help speed up the nerve tissue recovery process. Surgery will be expensive and it can be dangerous. There are two possible scenarios here if we don't operate on him, and since this man is currently unconscious, we'll need you to make a decision on his behalf. The possibilities, if we leave him untouched, are, either his nerves don't recover properly and he's left paralysed or they recover but over a period of twelve weeks in which he'll have to remain in hospital and do as little movement as possible; or we operate on him, to which there are three possibilities, he makes a speedy recovery within the week, something goes wrong and he'll never be able to be a mercenary again, or something goes horribly wrong and he dies."

"Dies?" Asuna asked.

"Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that he will definitely survive, the specialist and I will try our best, but I just wanted to be honest with you."

"I can't have Hoshiko dying on my watch, there's no way," she panicked.

"Asuna," Itachi grabbed her shoulder. She threw it off, "Asuna, listen!"

"No! I'm saying no, I'd rather have him recover over twelve weeks than have him die on me!"

"Hoshiko would never want to stay in one place for twelve weeks," Naruto said.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about Hoshiko, you've only known him for a week, I've known him since I was six. He deserves life! He wants life!"

"And he'll get it, ssu!" Fuu tried to calm her down.

"You heard what the doctor said, he'll try his best, that's the most he can do," Itachi said.

"No," Asuna teared up.

"Asuna, I think we both know that the better decision, in this case, is the surgery," Fuu said.

"No!" she repeated.

"It's what he'd want," Naruto said.

Asuna dropped her head onto his chest and muttered, "No," into his orange jacket. She gripped a handful of fabric as Naruto placed his hand on her back. The blonde's chin landed on the stoic woman's silky black hair. He gave the Uchiha leader a little nod before stroking Asuna's back.

"Let's go grab something to eat to lighten the mood, dattebayo."

The duo left the room. The Shinobi Alliance's captain and vice-captain stared at each other. The doctor turned to Hoshiko. The two leaders did the same. Never had the curly-haired speedster been so quiet. Usually, he was almost as lively as Naruto or Tayuya, now, he was a shell of the man he used to be.

"I think we'll go for the surgery," Fuu said aloud.

The doctor looked at Itachi for confirmation. The Uchiha nodded, "Surgery it is then."

XXX

"Tayu-chan!" Kin popped into Tayuya's room. The redhead jumped as her fellow ex-Facility subject threw herself onto the Jinchuuriki's bed. Tayuya clutched her heart and chuckled.

"What is it, Kin-chan?"

"Let's go swim in the lake," Kin suggested.

"Are we even allowed to do that?" Tayuya questioned.

"Does it matter?"

"Considering how we're living here for the next few days, I'd think we'd have to live by their rules."

"Come on, no one's gonna see us," Kin grinned

"See us do what?" Hanabi entered the room.

"Oh, nothing," Kin turned shyly. Tayuya raised an eyebrow. The onyx-haired woman went from grinning smugly to blushing timidly in half a second. To Tayuya, Kin was a very cocky badass, but whenever Naruto or anyone else was in the room, she disappeared into the background. It made the redhead wonder.

"Come on, tell me," Hanabi put her fists on her hips.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"I'm seventeen," Hanabi yelled.

"Where's your sister?" Tayuya asked.

"She wanted to go check on Naruto and them in the hospital," the Hyuuga Heiress shrugged.

"Why didn't you go with her?" Kin asked.

"… I'd rather not see Hoshiko at the moment," the youngster sighed, "But I _would_ like to go swimming in the lake!" she grinned.

Kin rushed to shut her mouth, "How did you know I said that?"

"I can see through walls… plus, I learned how to read lips."

"… How often do you keep your eye thing open?" Tayuya asked.

"Whenever no one's looking," she continued to flash her shit-eating grin.

"So, you can always see us?" Tayuya asked.

"Yep!"

"Even when we're changing?"

"Yep!"

"That's gross," Tayuya groaned.

"Don't flatter yourselves, I don't focus on you, ladies, when it's activated. I've just come to notice that the guys on our team all have nice chests and abs and…" Hanabi's face went bright red. She shivered at the thought of it, "Like Naruto's-,"

"I'd advise you to stop right there," Kin said, "Before Tayu-chan kicks your ass and I become emotionally scarred for the rest of eternity."

Kin looked over her shoulder. Tayuya's face was just as red as Hanabi's at the thought of what Naruto was hiding under that baggy jumpsuit of his. The Three Tails Jinchuuriki's brow furrowed, "Really?"

"Ehh?" Tayuya looked like a tomato.

Kin pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I'll go put on something I can swim in," the Jinchuuriki stood to walk out, but Tayuya scoffed.

"Wait, so we're really jumping into the lake?" the redhead asked. Kin paused. Hanabi looked up, "I mean, why not?" she shrugged, sighing on the inside.

"Is it safe to swim in a lake?" Hanabi wondered.

"We'll just have to find out," Kin beamed. Tayuya slowly stood up.

XXX

"Where would you like to eat?" Naruto asked as he walked down the lantern-lit streets of Grass Sanction with a saddened Asuna Kawamoto. The blonde shinobi stared his shorter teammate, Asuna was staring off into the distance. The stoic woman came to a halt and looked down the street at the bright lantern-lit pathways of the Grass Sanction. Like all other government-funded Sanctions the Grass Sanction had a massive glass dome around it that acted as more of a semi-spherical wall that didn't close-up the Sanction completely, its main role was to create a barrier between where you were allowed to kill and where you weren't.

"I'm not hungry," she admitted, still gazing off into the distance.

"Then, would you like something to drink, I'm sure I could find us a bottle store or something," Naruto looked around. The blonde turned to check on Asuna again. She continued to stare longingly down the street.

"I'm not thirsty… I don't drink alcohol either."

"A mercen… I mean, a shinobi that doesn't drink alcohol, that's quite rare," Naruto chuckled. Alcohol was much like an anaesthetic in the Wastelands. After seeing so many people get slaughtered, most people chose to use it as a method of drowning out their pain, "But then again, you have spent most of your life in a Facility so…"

Asuna's fist clenched.

"Okay, okay, so you don't want anything to drink? What do you want then?" Naruto asked.

"What do I want?" the naturalist reached into her backpack, which she'd usually let Hoshiko carry, and pulled out a thin white wooden mask. The older woman dropped her head to put the mask on, before lifting it dramatically to reveal a white canine mask decorated with red markings. Naruto, freaked out, took a step back, "I want to kill the Uchiha brat," she said.

"Whoa, wait, what's with the creepy mask?" Naruto's brow furrowed.

"It's a new technique I've been working on. I call it Doubetsugan Level Two. If I wear an animal-based mask and reflect my Dojutsu off a mirror or a reflective surface, into my own eyes while I'm wearing this mask, I'm able to use the characteristics of the animal I'm embodying," she explained.

Naruto tore the mask off, "A) That's creepy, B) You won't need to use that, because no one's going to attack Sasuke, and…" the blonde looked at the stoic woman. She'd somehow managed to put on an elephant mask while he was talking, "Uhh… how many of those do you have?"

"Why are you defending the Uchiha? He's done nothing but cause trouble since the formation of this group."

"Maybe you're not as used to team missions as I am, dattebayo, but sometimes you're just going to end up being paired with someone that you don't like. It's inevitable. There's always the chance that you'll meet someone who's classist, like Sasuke, or someone who hates women, or someone who just irritates you," Naruto removed Asuna's elephant mask, "and you'll always want to kick their ass, or…"

Asuna looked at Naruto dead in the eyes while wearing a white rhino mask, "What gives Sasuke the right to hurt our team members, when we don't have to right to hurt him?"

"Because that's exactly what someone like Sasuke wants. If I'm being completely honest, Sasuke and Itachi are probably two of the best fighters on our team, and if we challenge them to an emotional fight we'll be playing into their trap. We defeat their evil by being nice, dattebayo."

Naruto slowly removed Asuna's rhino mask to reveal a pale teary-eyed shinobi, "…" the young woman stared at the floor timidly, "… I… I want something to eat now."

The hyperactive knucklehead grinned, "You like ramen?" Asuna shrugged, "Sounds like a yes to me, dattebayo!"

The duo had conveniently stopped in front of a ramen shop. Naruto exploded through the paper door and walked towards the main desk. The shop was much larger than Ichiraku's Ramen Shop back in the Leaf Sanction, but at the same time, it was much colder and emptier.

"Good evening," the woman in white greeted, "Table for two?"

"Sure, dattebayo."

The woman grabbed two menus and guided the two shinobi to their seats by the window. Naruto sat first. Asuna sat across from him. The lady placed two menus on the table, "If you need me, feel free to just raise your hand or call me."

"This place is fancy," Asuna sighed, "I hate fancy places."

"Why?"

"I always feel underdressed," Naruto looked under the table. Asuna blushed. The woman was in her classic black kimono, decorated in a white floral pattern with a white sash wrapped around her midriff.

"You look pretty okay to me," Naruto gave her the thumbs up.

"Yeah, but you're basically wearing a neon orange jumpsuit. Everyone looks okay compared to you."

"Ouch," Naruto laughed, "But true. I've never been one for style or for practicality. I prefer to stick out."

"And stick out you do. I mean, literally, everyone on the team wears something dark except you, Fuu, Sakura and Hoshiko… but at least I understand why Hoshiko and Fuu wear white, they come from the Land of Frost and Land of Waterfalls. What climate would make orange count as camouflage?"

"A desert?" he shrugged.

"If your deserts are bright orange then I think there's something wrong with the Land of Fire," Asuna chuckled. She looked down at her menu, before shifting her gaze to the window. Naruto looked out too. The scenery was almost surreal, even from that Ramen Shop window. The happy couples and families laughing as they sauntered through the cobblestone streets. The brightly coloured lanterns that hovered over the roads, bathing each corner in oranges, yellows, pinks and even greens. The sky above them which was so empty and void of colour, yet so plentiful when it came to stars and space dust, which were presented in abundance, "It feels beautiful."

"What?" the blonde dropped his menu.

"To be so free."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Facilities have no windows, and most of my missions take place during the day. I've never known a night this beautiful before. It's almost too much to handle," Asuna focused on her reflection, "I just wish Hoshiko was here to see it."

Naruto placed his hand on her smaller one, "You heard what the doctor said, if the surgery goes right, he'll be okay by the end of the week."

"And if it goes wrong?"

"It won't go wrong. When you have the luck of a boy named Naruto on your side, things never go wrong, dattebayo," the blonde flashed his foxy grin.

Asuna smiled, "You say that after we've had to fight three different battles in the last week."

"We won, didn't we?"

XXX

Hinata Hyuuga sighed softly as she walked through the streets of Grass Sanction. To keep her identity a secret as she strolled through the well-lit streets, the young princess wore a furry black coat over her traditional kimono and covered her face with sunglasses and a headwrap. The woman had escaped the log cabins under the guise of visiting Hoshiko, but in actual fact, she just needed a moment. A moment to be alone with her thoughts.

Hinata came to a halt in the middle of the streets.

"I'm going to die," she repeated to herself until she believed it'd sunk in properly. The princess felt something bubbling up inside her soul. She couldn't hide it for much longer. She couldn't pretend like she was okay when on the inside she was actually falling apart. Deep down she didn't want to go to the Land of Lightning, but she was tired of disappointing her father. She had to prove her use, even if it was through death.

" _ **Hinaaata."**_

The princess grabbed her head and shivered as the deep but creepy voice echoed through her brain cavity. The woman looked around. People had cleared out, leaving her alone with the cobblestone under her feet and the clear sky over her head. Where was that voice coming from?

"Naruto-kun?" she looked around.

" _ **The time to suckle on royal breastmilk has come and gone, but the fate that has been bestowed upon you still rests."**_

"W… what?" Hinata activated her Byakugan, causing the sunglasses to drop from her face to the floor.

" _ **Bad girl!"**_ the Hyuuga Princess's eyes widened as the veins around her temple receded and her most precious Kekkei Genkai faded _ **, "I have entered the material plane and for as long as the sands of time sprinkle down on my undead corpse, my power to taint your mind will grow more potent until the mental pain on your tongue turns to physical distress on your breasts."**_

"Stop it!" Hinata pleaded grabbing at her ears. The Byakugan reactivated as she cried. Four men approached the distressed Hyuuga as she collapsed into a Slav squat. The first concerned civilian stepped in front of the princess.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked.

"No, I… I think I'm losing my mind," she cried.

"Oh no, you're not losing your mind," the slightly older man helped the woman to her feet. He gave her a little grin to which Hinata smiled back, "but you are losing that necklace."

"What?"

One man covered her mouth. Another placed a piece of broken glass to her neck. The fourth man yanked Hinata's arms back and tied them behind her back. The Hyuuga's eyes widened as she was dragged through the empty streets into the alleyway. The first man grabbed the sunglasses and stuffed them into his back pocket.

"We got a Hyuuga!" the shortest man laughed.

"I told you she looked special," the first man cackled pulling out a knife. The second man replaced his hand with a gag and tossed Hinata onto a pile of boxes. The Hyuuga activated her Byakugan again and tried to cut through the ropes. She couldn't get a hold of her restraints. She'd have to wiggle her arms slowly until the ropes were around her wrist. She needed time.

The first man advanced. She curled into the fetal position. The third man stopped him.

"Whoa, Denki, what are you planning on doing?" he asked.

"Cut her up," the knife-wielder said.

"Why?"

"She's seen our faces, if we kill her, we can take her things and go."

"She's a lot more valuable alive," the short man explained, "She's got the Byakugan, and she doesn't have the Caged Bird Seal, so she's obviously an important member of the Hyuuga Family. If we kidnap her, we can get a pretty hefty amount of money."

Hinata looked under her armpit at the ropes binding her. They were almost there. She looked back up at her assailants.

"How do you expect us to manoeuvre through the streets of Grass Sanction with a tied-up woman?" Denki asked.

"We can knock her out and carry her in a bag."

"Something less conspicuous, you dumbass."

"We could wait until it gets really dark, so we know everyone's asleep," the shorter man thought aloud.

Denki shrugged, "That's an idea," he put the knife back in his pocket, "but what do we do with her until that time comes?"

Hinata paused. She stared at the older man. She traced his line of sight to her legs. She was wearing a red kimono dress with a single slit on one side, so her left leg was fully exposed. Denki bit his lower lip. Hinata's eyes widened.

XXX

Kin sunk under the water until her feet touched the moist moss-covered lakebed. Her nose was barely above the surface as she teetered through the murky water _, "Where are those guys?"_ she blew bubbles _, "I hope they didn't ditch me."_

"Cannonball!" Kin looked up to see a half-naked Tayuya fly through the cold night air. Kin dived. Tayuya smashed into the water, touching the rocks below before lifting herself to the surface and laughing, "Fucking epic!" she roared.

Hanabi slid into the water whilst Kin was underneath. The Hyuuga Heiress swam to her escorts' sides. The water was a lot warmer than the air surrounding it. Hanabi couldn't help but sink her head under the surface to heat up her face. Both Hanabi and Kin reared their heads at the same time. Tayuya finally stopped laughing.

"This is surprisingly warmer than being indoors," Hanabi admitted.

"Tayu-chan, you know we're not supposed to be making too much noise," Kin groaned.

"You're the one who wanted us to swim in the first place, so if we get in trouble, I'm pinning it on you!"

"What?" Kin whined.

"I'm kidding, no one can catch me," Tayuya grinned.

"I hope not," Hanabi shrugged.

The redhead stared at Kin, and then looked over to Hanabi. The princess blushed when Tayuya's hazel eyes stopped on her for longer than they did on Kin. The redhead lifted her arms out of the water and held them to Kin's and Hanabi's breasts.

"What?" Hanabi yelled.

"You know it's bad when I'm more tanned than the both of you," she laughed.

Kin turned to face Hanabi. She realised she'd never stopped to notice this, but aside from Naruto and Sakura, who had fleshy pink skin, and Fuu, who was tanned, literally everyone on the team was extremely pale. The Jinchuuriki and considered it carefully, looking at how much time they'd spent in the sun over the past week, they should have all been a lot darker by now.

"Then again we're all pale," Hanabi stated what Kin was thinking. The youngest woman let her body float before putting some more thought into it, "In fact, if I had to rate people from lightest to darkest, I'd say… definitely my sister at the top, that woman needs a tan, then maybe Asuna, then Ho…" Hanabi stopped there.

"What's up?" Kin asked. Her wet hand rose out of the water to land on Hanabi's shoulder.

"It's a weird feeling," Hanabi placed her hand on her heart.

Tayuya swam closer, "Why? You like him or something?"

"You should be the last person to give relationship advice, Tayu-chan," Kin smirked.

"Nah," Hanabi replied, "It was just that the night we spent together was…"

"You spent the night together?" Kin splashed through the water. Tayuya got even closer to listen more carefully.

"You slept with a guy on the same day you met him? Props," the foulmouthed woman shrugged.

"No, I didn't sleep with him. Of course, I'd never sleep with someone after only a day," Hanabi blushed. She lowered herself into the warm water, "I just miss his overall positive vibes, you know."

"I wouldn't know, never really got to spend time with the guy while he was alive," Tayuya said. Hanabi glared at her, "What?"

"He's not dead," Kin whispered.

"Oh shit," Hanabi blasted Tayuya with water, "Okay, I'll admit that was a dick move, I'll give you that one," Hanabi readied another thrust of lake water, but Tayuya grabbed her hand under the rippling surface, "I said one."

"Why don't we just go check up on him?" Kin wondered.

"I can't stand to see family in pain… seeing him in that state would just make me wish I could take his place."

Ino rushed onto the porch, "Where's Hinata?"

Hanabi turned first, "She went to go check on Hoshiko."

"Itachi and Fuu just came back from the hospital, they haven't seen her either."

The Hyuuga's eyes widened.

XXX

"No, get off me!" Hinata mumbled, kicking at Denki viciously. The knifeman grabbed Hinata's chin and pressed her head against the ground. He cut up a section of her dress, running up her slit until he reached midriff. She tried to kick, but another man grabbed her legs. The man banged her head against the earth, drawing blood. The Hyuuga chopped through the rope with her Gentle Fist. She tapped the man's chest. He stood up. She reached for her gag. A fifth man leapt through the shadows and landed a stomp on Hinata's head, dazing her. Her body gave up on her. Her limbs collapsed, hitting the floor.

She groaned, "That was too close," the fifth man, larger and burlier than his compatriots, retorted, "You can't treat a Hyuuga girl like you would a normal girl, you've got to be a lot rougher with her."

Hinata painstakingly tried to reach out to stand up, but she just grabbed the man's pant leg. He kicked her hand off before stepping on it. The Hyuuga squealed.

"NGH!" the man fell to the floor next to her. Hinata's eyes widened. A blonde shadow jumped over her, grabbed Denki by the arm, and twisted it before slamming him into a wall. The Hyuuga blinked as he vaulted over the short man, lifted him into the air, flipped him and dropped him on his spine. He took another man down with a backhand, sending him crashing into more boxes. The last man put his palms together to beg. He got slapped around before being dropped like a ton of bricks.

Hinata rolled onto a dirty puddle, "Help," she mumbled through the gag, but there was no one else in sight. She wasn't sure whether the new party was a friend or a foe, but she didn't want to stay to find out. She tried to crawl away. The blonde pulled Hinata's sunglasses out of Denki's back pocket and wiped them clean on his pants.

The blonde man helped her to her feet. He removed her gag. Hinata's vision began to return to her. He looked so familiar. The young woman's legs gave up on her, so she had to use the handsome man to balance herself. He wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her up. His shaggy blonde hair ran past his ears. Hinata stared at him carefully. His passionate blue eyes. His smooth and rounded face. He looked so much like Naruto.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"The Hyuuga Princess, allow me to take you to my temporary home."

"No… no-," they vanished in a yellow flash.

XXX

"Please don't fall off," Asuna pleaded as Naruto tried balancing on the wooden bridge's rails. The Grass Sanction Bridge separated the more modern city centre from the quiet residential area and the dark hill overlooking the Sanction.

"What will you do if I do?" Naruto strolled casually on the thin wooden beam.

"I'll keep walking," Asuna claimed. Naruto smirked before letting himself fall over the side, "NARUTO!" the pale woman stopped and rushed to the rail. She leaned over it to see the blonde using chakra to stand on the side of the bridge.

"I thought you were gonna keep walking," the foxy brat laughed.

"Yeah, well now I wished I pushed you in!" Asuna threw her hand over the rail and grabbed Naruto by the jumpsuit jacket.

"Stop, stop, I'm gonna fall, dattebayo!"

"Just walk on the water, like a true shinobi!" she yelled. Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders. Her hips slipped off the rail. Asuna's eyes widened, "Oh no."

Asuna's legs were literally hanging over the side of the bridge when a third party caught her in time. Naruto's feet dangled over the slow-moving water below him. The figure pulled her and Naruto up with ease. The stoic woman froze when she realised how much strength that would probably require. They both landed on the wooden bridge and stared at each other before acknowledging their saviour.

"Try to be more careful next time," the effeminate man was dressed in all black with a samurai hat and half-face mask. Three more figures dressed in black turned and waited for the man to catch up.

"Kagerou, are you coming?"

The cloaked man lifted his head to reveal his deep blue eyes. Naruto's eyes widened as the sight of them. A strand of white fell over his forehead, so he fixed it up as he spun on the spot to face his comrades.

"Yeah," the man walked away.

"What's wrong?" Asuna asked, noticing the blonde's panic.

"That coat… he's one of the people after Hinata," Naruto hyper-ventilated, "The people who attacked us in the Rain Sanction a few days ago," his fists clenched.

"Don't worry, we're in a Sanction, they won't attack us," Asuna said, unclenching the blonde's fists.

"We were in the Rain Sanction the last time, and that didn't stop them, dattebayo."

"Well, they didn't attack you this time, which means they're not after you, and both Hinata and Hanabi are safe back in the log cabins," Asuna explained, calming the Jinchuuriki down. Naruto breathed heavily as Asuna rubbed her hand on his shoulder. She pointed to the lake houses, "which are that way."

"Wait," Naruto paused.

"What is it?" Asuna deadpanned. Naruto grabbed Asuna's elbow and pulled her up onto the wooden bridge's railing, "Did you learn nothing from what just happened?" the stoic woman cried. Naruto pushed chakra into his knees and sprung through the air. The shinobi in orange landed near the top of the large green hill.

"Come," Naruto let go of Asuna's elbow. They were both shrouded in darkness as they landed on one side of the knoll. The wind had picked up rapidly due to their height above ground and Asuna's hair was blowing into her face. The young woman had to stop to tie her hair into a slouched messy bun, but her bangs still flapped in the wind. Naruto stopped and turned before holding his hand out again, "Come."

"Why are we here first?" Asuna got a little cautious as the blonde tried to draw her into the darkness. Naruto didn't answer. He just grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the top of the hill.

"You said you had never seen a night as beautiful as tonight, dattebayo?"

Asuna nodded dumbly. Naruto threw his arm out. Asuna's onyx eyes lit up as she gawked at the world below her. The Grass Sanction was one of the most beautiful government-funded Sanctions outside of the Land of Fire. Most of the streets were lined with cobblestone and bathed in multi-coloured lanterns, whilst the City Centre was surrounded by shiny marble pathways and soaked in light orange hues. Asuna eyes focused on a particular family that was walking through the busy marketplace. The father had a healthy goatee on him and the mother had silky black hair. They were both wearing matching beige coats, and the three-year-old on the father's shoulders was pointing things out with sparkles in his eyes. Beauty was captured in their shared laughter.

"It makes me wish I could stay here forever," Asuna sighed.

Naruto directed her face to the lake houses behind them. Asuna tracked a shooting star as it flew overhead. Her gaze ran along the dark night sky until she got to the cabins sitting peacefully under the starry night sky. Asuna closed her eyes and listened to the contrast between a tranquil night in the plains, surrounded by the hooting of owls, the singing of insects and the whistling of trees as the wind blew through them, and the noise of a busy Sanction, celebrating the end of another beautiful day.

Asuna inhaled.

"I'm alive," she whispered with tears in her eyes, "Thank you for bringing me up here, Naruto-kun, you've got such a pure heart… now I see why she likes you so much."

Naruto blushed, "What? Someone likes me?"

Asuna turned to him with streams flowing down, "Oh damn, I almost told you her name," she realised, wiping the tears away.

Naruto jumped closer, "No wait, someone likes me, you can't hide that from me, dattebayo."

"I can't tell you," Asuna smirked, "She deserves to tell you herself."

Naruto grabbed her hands, "Just give me a little clue then, please."

Asuna chuckled, "Okay, okay," the stoic woman got to her feet, "… She's got long hair."

Naruto glared into Asuna's eyes, "That's not a clue, dattebayo!" Asuna herself had dark hair that reached her shoulder blades, Ino's ponytail reached her shoulder blades, Tayuya's red hair only stopped at the point where her spine met her hips, Kin's hair had already grown to around her back's halfway mark, Hinata's hair was shoulder-length and Hanabi's hair ran past her ass, so 'long hair' wasn't really a clue.

"Well, it's not me, so come, you can think it over on your way down."


	14. Sasuke's Lost It

**Reviews**

 **Benerice93:** Thanks, I was planning to use these few chapters to bring in more character interaction and team-bonding so I hope you enjoy it.

 **Thecla:** Yeah, as messed up as it is, you've got to give her credit for at least trying to understand Sasuke. And Hinata was extremely lucky that her saviour arrived when he died.

 **Aleksej k:** I love using characters unexplored by the main series like Kin and Tayuya because A) it's rare so it's a fresh breath of air to use those characters instead of the usual Team Seven, and B) it gives you a bit of a creative license when creating their backstories, goals and personalities, instead of taking a main character like Naruto and making him seem OOC.

 **Biginferno:** Thank you, hope the next chapters don't disappoint then.

 **Guest:** I was on holiday for the last month so I had no access to the internet, which meant I couldn't update the story. I'm back now though, so regular updates are coming your way.

XXX

 **WASTELANDS**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Sasuke's Lost It**

XXX

A long day had finally come to an end as night descended on the Land of Grass. The lake and its surroundings grew quieter and quieter until the log cabins were surrounded by nothing but silence. Complete silence save for the wind blowing through the trees towering over the clearing.

Sasuke, barefoot, made his way out of the tiny kitchen and entered the living room where everyone except Hinata and Hoshiko sat tranquilly. The onyx-eyed Uchiha glared at them. They all turned to him. No one said anything so Sasuke began to walk towards his room. Fuu elbowed Itachi, forcing him to stand. Sasuke paused.

He stared at his elder brother for a second. Sasuke squinted, "What?"

"Sasuke… we need to talk," the older Uchiha said.

Sasuke grunted, "About?"

"You, and constant your refusal to become a part of this team," Itachi folded his arms over his chest. The pale shinobi cackled. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"What team? Everyone in this room, except for you and me, is either a clanless loser or a lesser class Uchiha wannabe, no one here comes anywhere close to me in terms of strength. Why would I choose to be in a team with people who are below me? What kind of team is that?"

"You weren't calling me a clanless loser when I was bashing your head in, dattebayo," Naruto muttered.

"Say that again, usuratonkachi," Sasuke stepped into the living room. Itachi made sure to stand between the blonde and his rival. Sasuke stared into Itachi's Sharingan. The youngster stepped back, "… Don't you have a princess to look for? Or did you already give up on this stupid mission?" Sasuke asked.

"The Grass Sanction only has one exit, both Naruto and I sent clones to go make sure no one leaves the Sanction with Hinata," Itachi said, "Now come, take a seat."

"I'd much rather stand," the Uchiha retorted before backing up into a pillar and leaning against it. Itachi slowly moved around the coffee table and lowered himself onto the couch next to Fuu, his co-captain.

An awkward silence followed.

"Basically, you're a shitty person," Tayuya said.

"Tayu-chan!" Naruto tapped her knee.

"What? I want to go sleep," the redhead exclaimed, "It's the truth. None of us wants to be here at this point and you being a dick isn't making it any less boring."

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"What Tayuya means to say is, according to the original plan, we should already be nearing the end of Waterfall Country by now, but the lack of cohesion is forcing us to stop and start and stop and start," Itachi clarified.

Sasuke's fists clenched, "Hinata is the one that keeps disappearing and Hoshiko's the one holding us back in his hospital bed, yet I'm the one who's delaying us?"

"Who put him in hospital?" Asuna stood. Naruto pulled her down.

"No one asked him to be an idiot!"

"I'm going to kill this brat!" Asuna yanked a dog mask out of her backpack. Naruto slapped it out of her hands. Things began to heat up. Itachi stood up and placed himself between an angry Sasuke and a Shinobi Alliance that was ready to beat him senseless.

"Okay, wait," Sakura jumped to her feet.

"Sakura, sit down," Ino whispered.

"No, someone's got to defend Sasuke, and I think that someone's gotta be me."

"Sit down!" Sasuke roared.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"I said sit down, tramp," the black flames of hatred sprouted from Sasuke's neck and rushed across his face, "No one defends an Uchiha!"

"Being an Uchiha doesn't matter anymore, we're all a part of one family now, dattebayo," it was Naruto's turn to get involved.

Sasuke filled the room with chakra pressure, "Just shut up for once, usuratonkachi! What the fuck do you know about family of all things, Naruto! It's not like you ever had one in the first place… you've been on your own since day one! What makes you think you know the first thing about being in a family, huh? I suffer now because I once had a family! How could you possibly understand what it's like to lose all that!" Sasuke pushed Itachi out of the way. Naruto got up, "Huh! Naruto!" Sasuke threw a fist. Naruto froze.

Someone grabbed his fist. The chakra dispersed around the room. The mighty Uchiha stared at his clenched hand before tracing the pale arm back to its owner. Tayuya glared at Sasuke as geometric black lines ran from the back of her neck to her face.

"You're half right, Naruto doesn't know what it's like to have a mother or a father by his side, or a brother who cares for him as much as Itachi does for you, but where you're wrong is that, whenever he's with me, whenever he's with Kin, he's got a bond much stronger than anything you've ever seen," Tayuya launched Sasuke across the room. He still landed on his feet though, "When he's with me and Kin, he knows he's part of a family," the redhead stated.

Sasuke lifted his head to reveal a double three-tomoe Sharingan, "It's not enough… none of you knows my pain!"

Itachi dashed forward to stop him. Sasuke sped past him. The older Uchiha grabbed air. Itachi turned. Sasuke appeared in front of Tayuya. She flinched. He went for a punch.

Sand.

" _What?"_

The Uchiha spun around the redhead and tried to kick Naruto.

Sand.

The granules formed around his ankle and tossed him through the open sliding door, into the lake. Naruto ran out first. He almost bumped into a shorter redhead who stood on the pier with arms folded.

"Who… who the hell are you?" Naruto stuttered.

"Someone who values his sleep," the redhead hissed. Sasuke spat out a mouthful of water before climbing onto the lake's surface, "I only get to sleep once a week, so don't interrupt my sleep… or I'll kill all of you."

"Gaara!" a hyperactive blonde with four spiky pigtails rushed out of the cabin two houses down and looked across at the redhead. She leapt across the lake and landed behind the shorter redhead, "I'm so sorry if my little brother caused any trouble," the blonde bowed.

"Little brother?" he grunted.

"My name is Temari, this is Gaara, Kankuro, my other brother, is in the log cabin," she looked over to Naruto and bowed once more, "I hope he didn't cause any problems."

"I should kill you for throwing me in the water," Sasuke commented as he walked back onto the dock, soaked from head to toe.

Temari's heart almost jumped out of her chest when Gaara glared at the Uchiha. Itachi saw the glare.

"Shut up, Sasuke," Itachi demanded.

Sasuke stared at his brother. He looked back at Gaara. Something was bubbling under the surface, Gaara was not sane, and Sasuke could see it. The Uchiha flashed his intense chakra. Gaara didn't bat an eyelid. Sasuke, Naruto and Itachi were almost blown off the porch by Gaara's chakra release. Naruto's eyes widened. Tayuya clutched her chest. Kin choked. Fuu didn't bother rushing out onto the dock. Was he one of them?

Sasuke threw his left hand, "Just who… who do you think you are!"

"I'll make an example of this one," Gaara grunted. Sand gathered around the Uchiha. Temari tried to stop him.

Too late.

"AAHHHH!" Sasuke collapsed. His left arm bent the wrong way. The sand returned to Gaara's gourd.

"I think we should get back to bed now," Temari pleaded.

"Hmm. I was never here in the first place," Gaara admitted, turning to sand. Temari apologised before hopping onto the water and running away.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura rushed onto the porch to try and heal Sasuke's arm.

"… I think we just need to get some rest now," Itachi said with head in hands, "Tomorrow we'll have to split up, some people will go grab food for the road, others will grab us some shuriken and kunai knives, and others will go check on Hoshiko in the hospital… but for now, we all need rest."

Since all three cabins had three beds each, the Shinobi Alliance decided to split up with Naruto, Tayuya and Kin in one cabin, Sasuke, Itachi and Sakura in the other cabin and Fuu, Ino, Asuna and Hanabi in the last cabin. Hanabi didn't mind sharing a bed with Asuna.

The cabins descended into silence.

XXX

"I don't think Hinata's going to be passing through these gates any time soon," an Itachi clone sighed before staring across the gate at Naruto's clone which had fallen asleep. The Uchiha clone shoved his hands into his pockets and exhaled softly. Someone walked past him, "Huh?"

Sasuke elbowed the clone out of existence.

"What?" Naruto groaned as he was lifted off the ground and slammed against the wooden gate, dispelling him. The Uchiha stopped to look around for a second. He was dressed in a new sleeveless dark grey shirt with bandages around his wrist, and heavy bandaging around his left elbow which Sakura said is still recovering. The avenger sprinted out of the Sanction. Itachi woke up as his clone dispelled. Naruto jumped to his feet. Both shinobi threw themselves out the window.

"Stay here!" Itachi commanded already sprinting. Naruto froze, "I'll go after Sasuke, you make another clone and have them watch the gate for Hinata!" with that, the crow king was gone, into the night.

The blonde created a cross with his fingers. A second Naruto appeared.

"What's going on?" Tayuya pushed through the mahogany door and watched as the second Naruto vanished, "Are we kicking someone's ass without me, Naru-chan?" the redhead punched her open palm.

Naruto turned around whilst chuckling. He placed his hand on the shorter woman's shoulder, "Don't worry, Tayu-chan, it's just another Sasuke problem."

"Is he going after Hoshiko again?"

"No, no, he's actually left the Sanction, but Itachi's on his tail, so there's no need to worry," Naruto gently ushered Tayuya into their log cabin and shut the door quietly. Their casual conversation turned into soft whispering.

"Why should we care if he leaves the Sanction? He's done nothing but hold us back."

"You're asking the wrong person, dattebayo. Itachi's the one who can't function without Sasuke, maybe that's what it really means to be part of a family," Naruto's eyes dropped to the hard, wooden floor. Tayuya was about to walk away, but she paused when she heard that statement. The redhead turned to stare at him. He looked up at her, "…"

"What I said back in the main house was the truth, you know," Tayuya said. Naruto refrained from saying anything, "You might not be part of a big clan, like Sasuke, or anything, but you're still part of a family, Naruto. You, me… and Kin, when we're together, our ties to each other can rival any clan, be it Uchiha, Senju, Hyuuga, Uzumaki, Nara… you name it," she punched his shoulder.

The Jinchuuriki chuckled, "Thanks, Tayu-chan," he punched her back.

His fist held on her shoulder. They stopped in the darkness to look into each other's eyes. The pale blue moonlight illuminated certain halves of their faces as they contemplated together. He paused to wonder what was going on in her mind. Her heart rate picked up as she pondered what Naruto could possibly be thinking. Her beady hazel eyes reminded him of two buffalo butting heads, kicking up dust as they battled under the steamy desert sun. His passionate blue eyes took her to a large forest riddled with creatures big and small, a cunning red fox crushed leaves under its paws as it weaved through the thick vegetation.

The blonde went into autopilot. Tayuya's eyes widened as Naruto inched closer. There was a sparkle in his eyes. Was this a dream? A genjutsu? Tayuya's sweaty fists clenched. She swallowed hard as Naruto approached. It was too real to be a dream. She was prepared to vomit her own heart out as the blonde stood less than an inch from her face. Their noses, just centimetres from interconnecting. She could hear her heart beating in her ears.

Naruto closed his eyes.

Oh, yes.

She tilted her head.

" _ **Get me Hinata."**_

"Fuck off," she chased the voices away. Naruto stepped back, "No, no, no, no, no, Naruto," his face went from passionate to saddened. She didn't mean to say that in his presence. The redhead tried to grab his hands to restart the beautiful moment, but Naruto took another step back and faked a yawn.

"Damn, I'm so tired I'm practically falling asleep while standing up, dattebayo. Goodnight."

She didn't get to say anymore. The Jinchuuriki rushed upstairs. A door slammed shut. Tayuya grabbed her head and let out a silent scream, "What the fuck just happened? What did I do?" her hazel eyes quivered, "Naruto?" the Five Tails Jinchuuriki whispered.

XXX

 _October, 15._

Midnight came and went. Itachi pursued his brother through the night until he reached the Land of Grass's Uchiha Compound. The young shinobi had leapt into the compound via a window on the ground floor. The crow king would have to find another way to sneak in without arousing any suspicion. What was Sasuke after? Itachi had no time to ponder, if the clan found out Sasuke, a traitor, had snuck in, they'd kill him on sight. He had to move.

Sasuke came up to a dimly lit hallway. A mercenary in Uchiha armour walked past him. The one-armed shinobi single-handedly snapped his neck, dragged him into a closet and stole his armour off his back. He proceeded to casually stroll down the corridor, past three more guards and down a flight of concrete stairs until he reached a lantern-lit room with four stone walls surrounding him. The Uchiha took the helmet off first and marvelled at the sight.

"It really was here all along, huh," he said to himself upon laying his eyes on the Sacred Uchiha Stone Tablet. Sasuke paused to scan the room for any traps. None, "I guess it makes more sense to leave it in the Land of Grass than in the Land of Fire. If anyone obtained our eyes, they'd be able to access secret Uchiha techniques and abilities, like I am about to do so now," he knelt in front of the monument and activated his Sharingan.

Sasuke whispered to himself, "For the safety of all those who possess the will of Indra and the power of his eyes, this ancient text has been divided into seven sections. The power of the Sharingan, how to unlock the… Mangekyou Sharingan, the story of Kaguya and the Death God… what?" the shinobi squinted.

" _Firstly, the Sharingan is a dojutsu like none other. Directly descended from Kaguya Otsutsuki's Rinne Sharingan, the eye grants the wielder power parallel only to those who wield the Byakugan and the illusive Rinnegan. Awakened through experiencing powerful emotion, activation grants the user two abilities that grow stronger with every tomoe. The Eye of Insight allows one to see chakra moving through the body, allows one to anticipate motion through even the slightest movement of a muscle, and memorise and copy techniques just from sight alone. The Eye of Hypnotism grants the user the ability to use the Genjutsu: Sharingan, an almost irreversible visual technique, along with granting the user the ability to use someone else's hands to weave hand signs in their favour. It is only after unlocking the three-tomoe Sharingan that someone can learn the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan, its successor."_

"Sasuke?" Itachi caught up to his younger brother.

"Brother? What is this?" Sasuke questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"I… I possess the three-tomoe Sharingan, but… but some sections remain encoded as if another level of power lies beyond my eyes," Sasuke rescanned the first paragraph giving him an understanding of the Sharingan's full power, "Brother, what is this Mangekyou Sharingan they speak of?"

"Mangekyou… Sharingan? I don't know anything about-,"

"Liar!" Sasuke's chakra flared.

"You'll get us caught!" Itachi argued.

"I don't care!" he turned again to read the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

" _Now that you've reached the three-tomoe Sharingan, it's time to learn about its successor, the Mangekyou Sharingan. The Mangekyou Sharingan is proof that those who bear the Sharingan are cursed by all means. The only way to obtain these eyes is to experience the death of someone close to you. Traumatic indeed, but with it come the benefits of the Mangekyou Sharingan, which retains the abilities of the aforementioned Sharingan, along with the blessings of three new techniques. Two, completely unique to the user, and a third known to mortals as Susanoo, named appropriately after the God of the Seas and the Storms, he with the ability to protect by all means._

" _An editable list of people known to possess the Mangekyou Sharingan include: the Great Sage of Six Paths, Indra Otsutsuki, Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha,"_ Sasuke looked over his shoulder as Itachi came closer, "Stay back! Your name… your name is on the list, brother."

"Sasuke, I can explain," Itachi tried, but Sasuke wasn't having any of it, "Stop reading!" he demanded.

Sasuke painstakingly went through some hand signs. Itachi stopped, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he pushed Itachi back with a giant ball of fire. The crow king paused. Sasuke was on the verge of tears, "Father, Shisui and you, all of you had this secret bout of power that you refused to share with me. The betrayal! The audacity! People like Naruto and Gaara, who don't even have clans to begin with, are catching up to me who belongs to the might Uchiha Clan and you're letting it happen!" he spun around and read the last of what he could read.

" _A fairy tale come true. The story of Princess Kaguya of the Moon has been rewritten a hundred times since the dawn of man, but this is the truest version written by the first men. The god of death had made monsters to haunt early earth, but the gods chose to make humans with chakra that could seal away the monsters. After the monsters went into hiding the land was rife with war thanks to chakra, so Izanagi dropped the God Tree from his garden onto earth. It sucked all the chakra out of humans until Kaguya, a woman from another dimension, decided to eat the Sacred Fruit that blossomed every thousand years spreading chakra out into the land again, and turning her into the Rabbit Goddess. The Rabbit Goddess and the Death God struck a deal. She would soften up the humans with her beauty only for him to come in and kill all of humanity. The gods agreed to help seal the Rabbit Goddess in the moon and banish the Death God, but said that the next time men become so caught up in their wars that they restart the cycle of the Death God's Tyranny, the only way they'd intervene is if humans offered their most precious woman and took her to the Holy Shrine in Lightning Country to be sacrificed to them. To read on one must unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan in both eyes."_

"We've got intruders!" Sasuke stopped reading as a shuriken drilled into his elbow, radiating pain through his arm. Itachi turned. He got a staff to the face. Six Uchiha guards rushed into the room as the brothers grouped up.

"We need to get out of here," Itachi suggested. Sasuke brushed Itachi off.

"What makes me want to trust you of all people, brother!" Sasuke spat on the dirt, "I refuse to even call you by that title anymore," in his anger he didn't see the shuriken flying his way. Itachi froze. They drilled into his chest, dropping him. Itachi jumped in front of Sasuke. The young lad was about to get up and fight. Itachi blitzed behind him and knocked him out with a strike to the back of the neck.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" three fireballs came hurdling towards the Uchiha brothers.

Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan combined.

.

.

.

Sasuke's eyes opened.

Itachi was carrying him through the Land of Grass's open plains. The young shinobi couldn't move. Itachi had tied his wrists up with his own bandages. His torso felt warm. He was bleeding. Sasuke's eyes closed. The sound of crickets chirping deafened him.

" _ **Sasuke Uchiha."**_

" _Huh?"_

" _ **So, you say you want power."**_

XXX

Hoshiko marched through a blizzard. His sandals sunk into the thick snow, leaving deep footprints behind him. The speedster's eyes locked onto a well-lit cabin in the distance, "Salvation," he told himself before zipping over to it with ease. The shinobi, who didn't really mind the cold after spending his youth in the Land of Frost, pushed open the door and was greeted by warmth and tranquillity, "Damn, now this is a sweet place."

" **You like it?"**

The speedster froze up when he saw a shadowy entity standing in the corner of the room. His presence echoed darkness, adding a cold chill to the otherwise warm room. He didn't move. He sat in the darkest corner of Hoshiko's mindscape, gazing into the light that surrounded him with his deathly red eyes.

"Who the hell are you?"

" **The Death God."**

"The Death God himself? Where am I? What are you doing in my mind? What do you want with me?"

Almost seated on an imaginary chair, he aimed his finger at the window, **"We're nowhere near your mindscape, speedster. Look outside, see for yourself."**

Hoshiko ambled over to the window. His passive brown eyes spread wider. Nothing but a desolate landscape as far as the eye could see. Holes in the earth that were illuminated by burning souls. Waterfalls of lava hovering over lakes of melting flesh. Above him was nothing but ash and brimstone. Below him, a starry night sky too far to touch. The world was upside-down and it smelled like a rotting corpse. Hoshiko couldn't breathe. The horrific thought crossed his mind. No way, "I… I'm in hell."

" **Close actually. You're lucky I intercepted you, Hoshiko. You're in Limbo right now."**

"Get me out of here, please!" Hoshiko begged the figure.

It smiled. As the terrifying beam crossed its face, its fangs were shown. The speedster stuttered already regretting his decision. It was either he made a deal with the devil or he died. Hoshiko never got to say goodbye to the only person that mattered to him. Asuna. He was not ready to die just yet.

" **You need to do something for me in return."**

"Anything."

.

.

.

Hoshiko inhaled harshly. Oxygen never tasted so good. He needed more. Asuna rushed to hug him. Her grip stunned him. He tried to breathe. He reached for her frame to make sure she was real. Touching the cold woman's skin felt like taking a long, hard swig of an ice-cold glass of water after a long day's work under the burning summer sun. Euphoria. He lived.

The doctors dragged the pale woman away. The sun shone on his face. Hoshiko looked around. He was in a hospital room. The Shinobi Alliance surrounded his bed in relief. Itachi, Fuu, Kin, Naruto, Asuna, even Sasuke, the gang was here. Everyone except Hinata. The ninja paused. Why was everyone so shocked?

"What happened?"

Asuna spoke through tears, "You died, your heart stopped, you idiot," even whilst wiping away tears, Asuna wasn't afraid to insult the speedster, "they told me you weren't gonna make it, but you're here now… that's all that matters."

"I'm going to ask you all to step back, so I can fill the patient in on the surgical procedure, now that he's awake, we'll have to get his verbal consent to proceed."

The Shinobi Alliance shuffled into the hallway outside Hoshiko's room. Asuna dropped onto the freezing floor like a bag of potatoes. She just exhaled. Like she'd been holding her breath since Hoshiko flat-lined, which wasn't impossible. Tayuya, Fuu and Kin landed on the three-person bench. Ino and Hanabi were seated on another bench, opposite the three-seater. Sakura was talking to Itachi. Sasuke leaned onto a wall and stood in silence.

"Are you okay, dattebayo?" Naruto grinned. Asuna looked up into his foxy grin.

Seeing Naruto smile filled Asuna with a smidge of hope, but that's all she needed. The pale shinobi smirked, "I'm… surviving, Naruto."

XXX

Hinata's white eyes shot open as the morning rays warmed her face. The Hyuuga Princess was in a foreign room. The walls were a bright orange and the room was plain. How did she get here? The Hyuuga swung her feet off the bed. She landed on the wooden floorboards. They creaked under her weight.

"What am I wearing?"

Her traditional royal dress had been subbed out for a white high-collared, sleeveless shirt under a green dress that reached her ankles, "Whose clothes are these?"

"I should really get those floorboards fixed," the Hyuuga froze, "I could hear them from all the way in the kitchen."

Hinata's neck slowly cranked clockwise until she was staring up at her captor, who was leaning against the wooden door. _"Naruto?"_ Her eyes held on the older male. Dressed in a navy-blue loose-fitting shirt with a baggy beige short, the blonde beauty sunk his hands into his pockets and motioned for Hinata to follow her, "Who are you?" she'd swallowed her voice. The question came out as a throaty whistle.

"You're lucky we decided to spend an extra day in our Grass Village home before we went back home, Miss Hyuuga, otherwise who knows what those guys would've done to you. It's hard to find a man who'll fight for a woman he doesn't know without expecting a reward, you know?" he stopped. The man blushed whilst laughing, "I just realised I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Minato… Minato Namikaze."

"Hinata… Hyuuga."

"I know, it's hard to miss those white eyes. Come, my wife loves you Hyuugas."

A small part of her died at the mention of a wife. Of course, this dreamboat of a man had a woman in his life, there's no way someone with flowing blonde hair and perfect blue eyes could live to the age of thirty-five without getting married and settling down, especially out in the Wastelands.

When Hinata entered the kitchen behind Minato, she came face-to-face with one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen. She had perfect red hair that ran to her ankles, and as she turned, Hinata got to gaze into her mesmerising violet eyes. The barefoot woman was clad in an orange shirt and blue jean shorts with a beige apron over it all. No wonder Minato named her his wife. This woman was gorgeous. Together, they formed the most beautiful instrument Hinata had ever seen.

She bent over to let out a horrific cackle. Hinata stopped in her tracks. Minato's eyes widened, "Kushina, your cackle's gonna scare away the visitor."

"I'll beat the shit out of you!" she warned before returning to her laughter, "I'm just realising how unflattering my casual attire is. I can't believe it took someone else wearing it for me to notice."

Without skipping a beat, Minato leaned over and gave Kushina a soft kiss on the lips. The redhead clutched a handful of blonde locks to draw Minato deeper, turning it into a suffocating smooch. The blonde pulled away for air. Hinata blushed. Kushina approached her. She dropped her head onto Hinata's dark blue hair, "The name's Kushina Uzumaki!"

"An Uzumaki? I'm… H-,"

"Hinata Hyuuga, don't even introduce yourself, everybody knows of your endeavours, dattebane!" she flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder, "What happened to your entourage?"

"I lost them last night," Hinata admitted.

Minato dropped his chin onto Kushina's shoulder, "When did you learn the word 'entourage'?" he asked. Kushina grabbed another handful of blonde, but this time she yanked on it, "Itai! Itai! Itai! Itai! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Let go, I learned my lesson!"

Hinata was amazed at the sight. The previous night, Minato had literally broken another man's skull against a brick wall, but here he was the next morning, at the mercy of his wife's right hand. Something about seeing Minato lower himself at the might of his woman filled her hear with warmth, and a new understanding of what love was. It was like watching a man-eating lion rule over its territory with zero fear, then bow before his lioness even though he knew he could kill her with a single swipe. The Hyuuga snapped out of it.

"Thank you for saving me, but… but I must be going, I'm sure my escorts are worried sick," Hinata was about to make her way towards the door.

"No!" Minato yelled. Kushina let go of him. He zipped across the room to get a firm grip around Hinata's elbow.

"Why?"

"You haven't eaten. There's no way we could host you without giving you something to eat," Minato explained. Right on cue, Hinata's stomach grumbled at the thought of being fed after starving overnight.

"If it's not too much of a bother…"

"Of course not!" Kushina had already set-up the table with three plates, "Come, you can be our daughter for the day, dattebane!"

Minato ushered Hinata to the table, but before he disappeared into the kitchen, the blonde mercenary walked over to the window. He spread the curtain a bit. Four shadowy figures dressed head-to-toe in black cloaks meandered past the Namikaze-Uzumaki Home. The Namikaze's chakra flared. That was too close.

"Minato! Kitchen! Now!" Kushina roared.

"I'm just fixing my hair, love!" Minato chuckled.

XXX

The doctor pushed the door open slightly. The Shinobi Alliance turned to him in unison. Twenty eyes locked onto him in a split second. The physician scanned the hallway, "Who here is… Naruto?" the whiskered shinobi lifted his arm slightly, "The patient asked to see you privately."

"Me?" Naruto wondered. He didn't really bond with Hoshiko that much. They were teammates true, but if Hoshiko wanted to have a heartfelt conversation, he'd usually rush to Asuna's side or Hanabi's, so why was he asking to speak to him privately of all people. The orange-clad Jinchuuriki approached the speedster, "You need anything, dattebayo?"

"Naruto," Hoshiko checked to see if the doctor was listening. Nope. He was more interested in his other patient, who was in the bed diagonal to Hoshiko's, "I need a favour from you, in case this surgery doesn't work out."

"Really? What is it?" Naruto folded his arms.

"If I'm not at a hundred per cent when the surgeon finishes with me, I want you to kill me."

Naruto stepped back, almost tripping over the steel cabinet. The Jinchuuriki shook his head vigorously. No way he'd just heard what he thought he heard. Naruto returned to Hoshiko's side, "What the hell are you saying, dattebayo?"

"Speed is all I've got. It's the only thing that qualifies me to be a shinobi, so if anything goes wrong, and I'm not able to run at one hundred per cent, I want you to end me before I wake up."

"I can't do that, dattebayo. Hoshiko, you offer the group so much more than speed, dattebayo! Without you, we wouldn't have made it this far. That's the beauty of the Shinobi Alliance, we're all stronger than the sum of our parts."

Hoshiko wrapped Naruto's hand in his own hands. Naruto shut up. The blonde stared deep into the brown-haired man's eyes. Hoshiko's brow quivered, "Please."

"… This goes against every bone in my body, Hoshiko."

"But at the same time, I know you'd do anything for a friend, Naruto. Which is why I trust you enough to be the one who deals the final blow. Do you promise me, Naruto?"

Naruto pulled his hand away slowly, "I promise, dattebayo."


	15. Darkseid of the Moon Announcement

**Darkseid of the Moon Announcement**

Hey there reader, it's Tactician here. I just wanted to say I've published the Author Notes and the summary for my fanfiction, Darkseid of the Moon, which I've spent too much time working on. The story is listed under Naruto/Avengers Crossover Fanfiction, it's supposed to follow my 'Perfectly Balanced' story and I'm planning to drop Chapter One tomorrow (November 2nd) and Chapter Two on Monday, before going Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Monday and so forth.

As always, I'm open to and welcoming of constructive criticism, I'm nowhere near perfect at writing, but I love writing and sharing what's on my mind so if you want to favourite it, follow it, and review it, I'd love that.

That's all I have to say, if you don't want to check it out, it's cool, I'm not forcing you, but if you do, thanks, I appreciate you.

I'll see you around.


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